AV Issue 46

04

Editorial The Promise of Things to Come – Real Soon Now. Way back in the heady days of Enthusiast Computing (in the time before the arrival of the IBM PC and the Apple Macintosh), long before we all grew to hate being shackled to the damned things for almost everything we do, a columnist in an enthusiast magazine named Byte took to using the ironic phrase “real soon now” to describe the long (sometimes infinitely-long) interval between the breathless announcement of a new product and its actual shipping to end users.

Nothing much has changed in the decades since then. Here at AV APAC magazine, our email inboxes overflow with press releases from manufacturers and distributors touting ‘breakthrough’, ‘unique’, ‘paradigm shattering’, and most-recently, ‘disruptive’ pieces of hardware and software. Sometimes the accompanying pictures are only digital renderings or ‘artists’ impressions’; other times it’s an image of an existing product with new labels and displays either stuck or Photoshopped on; occasionally it’s a photo of a real piece of (prototype) gear with screwdriver-scratches on the front panel, smudged labels, screws not fully countersunk or panels that aren’t quite aligned at the joins. It’s often pretty clear the product is not finished and certainly not yet in production, but we’re expected to tell you, our readers, the product is real and you should design your next project around it.

When we go to tradeshows we are often taken out the back of the booth and shown almostworking or mocked-up prototypes that will be available in “a couple of quarters”. Occasionally we’ll spot a few extraneous cables attached to the demo device which turn out to be running to a substantial box of unmentioned and unidentified electronics, and when we ask the obvious question are told: “Oh that. It will all be in a single ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit chip) in the shipping product”. And the manufacturers’ marketing and PR agencies can’t understand our reluctance to treat the device as real when we report it to our readers.

There is a suggestion from the more cynical and hard-boiled professionals in the audio world who visit the US NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Winter show in January that in fact NAMM really stands for ‘Not Available, Maybe Messe’, a suggestion the new products announced at the NAMM show frequently aren’t available until the Music Messe show held in Germany in mid-April.

Of course, quite a few of these announced products and technologies never actually make it to market, which is hardly surprising. The road

from concept or mostly-functional prototype to shipping product is long with many a winding turn and even highly-experienced manufacturers have been known to stumble. Some ideas simply can’t survive the journey from hand-built prototype to fully-functioning or production-line-suitable products that can be built at a price that will both be acceptable to end users and profitable for the manufacturer. With others it’s because while the principles behind the idea are sound, it’s simply too complex for the target users to configure, operate or maintain.

I’m still awaiting delivery of the four Magic Lantern profile spots I ordered from Tim Burnham & Associates in 1983. The prototypes of this amazing luminaire quite rightly won awards from every direction. This beautifullydesigned, futuristic fixture family ran on ultrahigh-efficiency, low-voltage lamps powered via a built-in switch-mode power supply/dimmer which was controlled by a daisy-chained digital control protocol, before DMX512 had even been devised.

Sadly (the appropriately acronymed), TBA went broke going from hand-built prototypes to the production model and it was decades before we saw luminaires with the same capabilities.

In the world of software development there is a project management tool that applies to most types of projects. Known as the 90/90 rule, it states: “The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time.

The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time.” From my own experience in the areas where technology and production intersect, I can attest to the value of this rule as a guide when devising schedules.

There’s nothing I’ve mentioned here that isn’t well understood by the companies who bring us the astounding variety of software and hardware we use to ply our craft, yet we continue to be treated as fools by the benefactors who shower new products on our heads at a rate that is almost incomprehensible.

Why do we receive press releases announcing the availability of a NEW product when the product was actually announced a full year ago, but has only just made it to manufacturing? Some cynics suggest this was just the marketing people announcing the idea of the product to gauge from the response if was worth going to the bother of developing it?

Why do some manufacturer’s continue to ship products that only have a few of their announced capabilities, then keep releasing firmware

upgrades every few weeks, as the developers actually build the products on the fly, financed by the customers who effectively loaned them the money to complete their product development.

So the question has to be asked why we can’t be given realistic information about the products that pour into our industry. Why can’t products be announced or previewed with realistic, or at least meaningful, shipping dates so we have the opportunity to assess whether the availability of the product makes it a realistic candidate for use?  Andy Ciddor, Editor: andy@avapac.net

“I’m still awaiting delivery of the four Magic Lantern profile spots I ordered from Tim Burnham & Associates in 1983”

T he A tlona Connected H ome

A tlona Whole H ome A V Solution t on m fie our ome o e ome om ete end to end d tr ut on nd e r m ted rr r e to ed t on to nd re ud o u ort u to onne t t rom n composite video

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nt r n e e u e d tr uted n u tr o ut on o rue nd ter ud o n n ud n nd

For the latest promotions news and product information, contact our new telephone support team

1300 666 099

Or visit www.idt.com.au to find out more.

A MIDWICH GROUP COMPANY

Crew Marcus Pugh has worked in the entertainment industry for over 17 years. He has lit everything from TV to tours, corporate to circus, galleries to garages, and yet he’s still smiling and always up for a joke.

Marcus now spends much of his time looking after a large client base for Melbourne lighting company Resolution X. He is currently a President of the Australian Lighting Industry Association, a member of the AVIAs judging panel, and has a continuing passion for lighting in all fields.

Advertising Office: +61 (0)2 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Australia

Editorial Office: +61 (0)3 9998 1998 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353 Australia

Editor: Andy Ciddor (andy@avapac.net) Publication Director: Stewart Woodhill (stewart@avapac.net) Editorial Director: Christopher Holder (chris@avapac.net) Publisher: Philip Spencer (philip@avapac.net)

Graeme Hague worked for the last twenty years in regional theatre venues as an audio, lighting and AV technician, before leaving to work freelance for local production companies and focus on becoming a full-time writer based in the south west of WA. Graeme is a regular contributor to Audio Technology magazine and was the principal writer for the new Guerrilla Guide to Recording and Production (www.guerrillaguide. com.au). He owns a Maglite, a Leatherman and a wardrobe of only black clothing which proves he is overwhelmingly qualified to write on any technical subject.

Art Director: Daniel Howard (daniel@avapac.net) News & Online Editor: Jen Temm (jen@avapac.net) Additional Design: Dominic Carey (dominic@avapac.net) Accounts: Jaedd Asthana (jaedd@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Manager: Mim Mulcahy (subscriptions@avapac.net)

Stephen Dawson is a long-time geek, whose geekery changes focus from time to time. He made his first microphone pre-amp from an Electronics Australia (remember them?) design back in the early 70s. His schooling involved melting a screwdriver on the school hall control panel, and receiving tingles from poorly-insulated antique lighting control pots. These days he spends just about all his time writing about audiovisual gear.

alchemedia publishing pty ltd (ABN: 34 074 431 628) PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Australia info@alchemedia.com.au All material in this magazine is copyright Š 2015 Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd. The title AV is a registered Trademark.

Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. The publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility is on the person, company or advertising agency submitting or directing the advertisement for publication. The publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, although every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy. 10/4/2015

Derek is an audiovisual consultant with AVDEC, specialising in tertiary education projects. Starting in broadcast TV and radio at the ABC, he bounced between event AV and video production before settling for 12 years at the University of Queensland. He is past president of the Association of Educational Technology Managers and has been a regular judge of the AVIA awards.

He now divides his time between consulting, writing and the occasional video production assignment.

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Innovative Solutions from Production Audio

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For complete integration of sound, lighting and video, choose Luminex Managed Gigabit Ethernet Switches with Ethercon Ports. The GigaCore product range is composed of Ethernet switches designed to cope with the most demanding AV installation. From tour to installation, the switches offer a reliable and user friendly platform to transport any of the industry IP protocols at wire speed.

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Issue 46 REGULARS

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18

NEWS AV industry and product news highlights from the AV website.

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PROJECTION MAPPING STREET ART Melbourne street art meets projection mapping at White Night 2015.

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HDBaseIP All the capabilities of HDBaseT over off-the-shelf IP networks.

20

INDUSTRY UPDATE News from the AV associations: InfoComm and AETM

48

TERMINATION A jaundiced point of view on POV

50

FEATURES BCEC SPROUTS WING BCEC’s expansion creates top class facilities for events of any scale.

24

NIGHT AT THE (MILITARY) MUSEUM An after hours tour of the enormous Netherlands National Military Museum.

30

SCALING THE HEIGHTS OF THE G20 SUMMIT Supplying network and comms to the peak of global meetings.

36

REVIEWS

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SENNHEISER EW D1 WIRELESS SYSTEM A digital wireless microphone that operates in the 2.4GHz ISM band.

42

ARX AUDIBOX BLUE DI Direct audio input from Bluetooth devices.

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CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL’S ROGUE FAMILY A look at this growing family of lowbudget high-feature moving lights.

46

TUTORIAL

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PANEL DISCUSSION An introduction to LCD and micromirror projector technologies.

40

INFOCOMM TUTORIAL Room Factors – understanding your client’s requirements.

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NEWS

Highlights from AV News Online

REVOLABS & YAMAHA COLLABORATE FOR UC

ATLAS 4K SUPPORT FOR ANY DISPLAY

TOP OF THE CEILING SPEAKERS

Revolabs has launched the Yamaha YVC-1000 unified communications and speaker system, marking the first collaboration between the two companies since Yamaha’s acquisition of Revolabs in early 2014. Featuring Yamaha’s latest microphone and speaker technology including its Human Voice Activity Detection, the YVC-1000 is designed for medium to large conference rooms and allows users to connect to virtual calls via Bluetooth or USB, enabling instant participation from personal devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers.

Equipped with audio in/out connections to support external speakers, the system also provides daisychain connectivity for up to five microphones, enabling comprehensive AV coverage of significantly larger rooms. To simplify multi-use settings, the unit equalises audio at the touch of a button using Yamaha's automatic audio tuning — applying signal processing advances such as echo cancelling, noise reduction, tracking, gain control and dereverberation. "For our customers, the YVC-1000 is a significant addition to the Revolabs product line-up, allowing them to now select from a full range of USB conference phones for conference rooms large and small," says Revolabs chief executive officer JP Carney.

Revolabs: www.revolabs.com

Archimedia Technology has released Atlas 3.1.1, the newest version of its media player, making it possible to watch 4K 60p content encoded in practically any format on all kinds of displays. The capability is a breakthrough, the company says – up till now there was no way to view 4K 60p and high dynamic range content outside of the edit suite where it was created without first transcoding it to a smaller format to suit hardware limitations. "Playing 4K content at higher frame rates is quickly becoming an imperative,” says Archimedia’s chief marketing officer Josef Marc.

“Major content owners have begun specifying 4K 60p for master deliverables of new content, yet they are hard-pressed to screen that content once it arrives.”

Atlas incorporates a professional-grade scaler that presents any frame size or media format to full screen on any HDMI, DisplayPort, SDI, or Quad Link display with frame-accurate precision up to 4K 60p, Marc says. Formats supported include the latest IMF, HEVC, and AS-11 DPP formats; more than 100 caption/subtitle formats required by law around the world; DPX, TIFF, and EXR frame sequences; encrypted DCP; and Dolby audio codecs.

Archiemedia Technology: www.archimediatech.com

Electro-Voice has added two new high-end speaker models to its EVID (EV Innovative Design) range of smaller-format installed audio products. Launched at ISE 2015, the PC6.2 (6.5-inch two-way) and PC8.2 (8-inch two-way) feature dedicated EV-engineered compression drivers for improved high-frequency performance and coverage control over previous models, with high excursion woofers providing “dramatic” low-end extension. Reinforced steel back cans provide rigid enclosures to minimise acoustic loss, and simplified wiring and new mounting designs allow for quicker installation into a wide range of ceiling cavities and construction formats. Both models add increased power handling (100W), higher output (115dB / 116dB), and wider coverage angles (120˚/105˚) to the EVID feature set, and offer a four-point clamp mechanism and integrated mounting legs for quick installation, detachable pass-thru Phoenix-style signal connections to simplify installation wiring, and tap selector with 8² / 70V / 100V operation. The range is designed for background music applications and distributed audio in retail spaces, restaurants, theatre and stadium concourses, and shopping malls.

Bosch Communication Systems: (02) 9683 4752 or www.boschcommunications.com.au Electro-Voice: www.electrovoice.com

NEWS IN BRIEF:

Pacific AV has been appointed as a Bosch Communications distribution partner in New Zealand, effective February 2015.

The company will focus on the PLENA commercial range of PA systems and speakers from Bosch including the Australian-designed Plena Matrix, as well as promoting the entry-level conferencing system CCS900. The New Zealand importer and wholesaler specialises in commercial AV, operating through a nationwide dealer and installer network.

Bosch Security Systems: au.boschsecurity.com Pacific AV: www.pacificav.co.nz

Crestron Electronics has announced it will have a direct presence in Australia and New Zealand from 1 July 2015, opening new offices in the region to handle all sales, marketing, training and support programmes. The only exception will be the Crestron Pyng home automation system, which will continue to be distributed exclusively by Hills according to CEO Asia Pacific, Stuart Craig.

The company planned to set up its ANZ headquarters in Sydney, with additional offices in other capital cities in Australia and New Zealand.

Crestron ANZ: 1800 555 040 or www.crestron.com.au

Tripleplay has its eye on APAC, opening a new office in Singapore. The digital signage, IPTV and video streaming software supplier says the expansion is a key step to strengthen its position in the region. The office will work closely with the company’s Australian team, and is headed by Asia regional director Carly Young.

Tripleplay has operated for more than a decade in the digital media marketplace with offices in the UK, Australia, South Africa and Europe.

Tripleplay Australasia: (02) 9929 3849 or tripleplay-services.com

• Get your daily news fix at www.avapac.net

Riedel Communications has appointed Cameron O’Neill as company director for the AsiaPacific region. Previously general manager of Riedel Australia – and a valued technical contributor to AV Asia Pacific – O’Neill will be based in Tokyo, working to build an East Asia hub for the company.

Ian Hamilton has taken on the general manager role in Australia, and Julian Hewitt has been appointed technical operations manager.

Riedel: (02) 9669 1199 or www.riedel.net

ULA Group has appointed Nathan Wright as its VuePix product manager. Wright joins the team with more than 18 years of experience in information technology, production management and professional lighting and vision.

He will be working at the frontline of customer service, managing VuePix projects and providing technical sales support. “I am really excited to join the team at ULA Group and am looking forward to growing the VuePix brand and developing new and exciting products to deliver to our customers,” Wright says.

ULA Group: 1300 852 476 or www.ulagroup.com

PITCHING PIXELS A new range of high resolution indoor LED walls from Barco may well extend the company’s reach beyond traditional LED markets to control centres and boardrooms. The X series couples the benefits of LED visualisation with very high resolutions, with key features including pixel pitches of 1.6, 1.9 and 2.7mm, front access, factory calibration, highquality dimming, and easy and fast installation. Barco says its optimised image processing takes particular care of colour reproduction, allowing brightness adjustment to any environment without losing quality or detail. The X series’ Infinipix image processing platform drives all LED tiles at the highest image quality and with the highest colour accuracy in and between tiles for an optimally aligned LED wall, and the range offers an extended form of signal redundancy: if the data path between the tiles is interrupted, a redundant data path takes over to ensure that an uninterrupted image is displayed. Its Pixel Fusion technology ensures dead pixels “are virtually unnoticeable” so the LED wall remains fully operational. The LEDs are calibrated when they leave the factory to ensure a perfect image, and front access to the tiles ensures faster and risk-free servicing.

Barco Systems (Australia): (03) 9646 5833 or www.barco.com

AV and acoustics consultancy Hewshott International has moved into swish new premises in Singapore to support its expansion into new market sectors in the region. “The move to a larger premises is in direct response to an increasing workload, including a number of new and long-term contracts and will facilitate continued growth and strong presence within the Singapore market,” the company announced. The new address is 219A South Bridge Road, Singapore 058768, phone +65 6591 8857.

Hewshott: www.hewshott.com

Artistic Licence has launched a free open domain protocol called Art-Osc that enables the transport of DALI lighting control data over an Ethernet network. Art-Osc provides a non-proprietary method to transfer the DALI language over a network; putting this into numbers translates into control over a billion DALI ballasts. It further enables simple integration of RDM data to smartphones or tablets, and provides a standardised remote control syntax specifically written for the lighting control market, enabling automation and triggering of devices over the network.

Harris Movement Engineering: (02) 9708 6614 or www.harrismovement.com.au Artistic Licence: www.artisticlicence.com

Australia’s annual Entech trade show has been cancelled following the sale of the name and visitor database by owners Exhibitions & Trade Fairs (ETF) back to Entech founder Julius Grafton. The show, in its 21st year, was due to run in Moore Park, Sydney, on July 7 to 9. ETF managing director Gary Daly said ETF’s priority was to “move forward with a focus on the existing portfolio of shows and the development of new events in emerging markets.”

Exhibitons & Trade Fairs: (02) 9556 7981 or www.etf.com.au

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NEWS

LISTEN UP WITH IR

LEADER GENERATOR

EXTRON ROOM SCHEDULING

Listen Technologies, the assistive listening product specialists, has expanded its IR technology offerings with the new LT-84 ListenIR Transmitter-Radiator and LA-141 ListenIR Extended-Radiator. These products, along with the recently announced iDSP IR receiver, represent a potentially more cost-effective and generally easier-to-install solution for smaller spaces.

The new LT-84 ListenIR Transmitter-Radiator (offering two IR channels with up to four frequencies) provides generous coverage of more than 465sqm and is the first product of its kind to feature delay compensation.

Listen Tech claims it’s the only two-channel transmitterradiator with up to four frequencies (2.3MHz, 2.8MHz, 3.3MHz or 3.8MHz), eliminating the need to purchase additional transmitter-radiators. Simple to install with the included mounting hardware and legislative compliance kit, it was designed with input from architects and interior designers to blend in with any environment without disrupting a room’s design. Up to four LA-141 Extended-Radiators can be added to the LT-84 for additional coverage and, when coupled with iDSP IR receivers, offers enhanced management and storage tools for venues.

National Audio Services: (03) 8756 2600 or www.nationalaudio.com.au Listen Technologies: www.listentech.com

Leader Instruments is introducing a modular, multiformat video and sync pulse generator at the NAB show in April. Integral to the design of the LT8900 is an extensive library of reference and test signals that meet current signal standards, and will be developed to accommodate the future standards to match the fast pace of progress in global broadcast markets.

Developed both for testing broadcast systems and as a master timing reference, the 1RU instrument supports a selection of optional features that can be activated or upgraded locally or remotely. The LT8900 can generate 1080/720 HD and 625/525line standard definition reference and test signals simultaneously, with independent timing control for all outputs to simplify system integration. HD and trilevel sync formats are accommodated either within the base unit or by fitting the appropriate option board.

HD test patterns are available in all recognised 1.485 gigabit/s standards or, with the optional 3G output board, in any of the extended 2.970 gigabit/s formats.

Externally generated test patterns and logos can also be imported.

Magna Systems & Engineering: (02) 9417 1111 or www.magnasys.tv Leader Instruments: www.leaderamerica.com

Extron has simplified the room booking experience for business environments with Room Agent software, which works with TouchLink touchpanels to create its complete Room Scheduling solution. While many devices rely on additional scheduling software or external processors, Room Agent ties TouchLink Pro touchpanels directly to Microsoft Exchange, delivering a stand-alone room booking system for any size application. The system displays a room’s meeting information and occupancy status on a standard TouchLink Pro touchpanel, and users can reserve rooms from any Exchange-connected device including their mobile devices or from the touchpanel itself. Multiple mounting options are available for the 5- and 7-inch touchpanels including on-wall, in-wall, as well as secure mounting to almost any flat surface, including glass or granite. "Room Agent software further enhances our TouchLink Pro touchpanels by transforming them into convenient room booking appliances," says sales and marketing vice president Casey Hall. "Room Agent software is free and makes setting up your touchpanels easy. Once you've modified the interface to your liking, users can simply tap the screen to book a room."

Extron Australia: (08) 8351 2188 or www.extron.com.au

WHISPER-QUIET PROJECTORS

DECIMATOR ADDS MULTIVIEWERS

DANTE IP MICROPHONE

Barco is targeting the corporate AV market with what it says is the quietest laser phosphor projector available, producing less than 35dB – or close to a whisper. The new one-chip DLP Present-P model was launched at ISE 2015 and begins shipping in April. The new model is available in both WXGA and WUXGA resolution versions. Its laser phosphor light source offers 20,000 hours’ life, reduced power consumption and eliminates the need for lamp and filter replacements. The unit is compact and light and can be installed in any orientation anywhere, including a meeting room ceiling. A large lens shift range means images can always be positioned in the right way, even in challenging setups. Barco says it is currently the only manufacturer to integrate a wireless collaboration system and HDBaseT technology under the hood of its projectors – when coupled with Barco’s ClickShare, the Present-P projectors transform into easy-to-use collaboration devices requiring minimal wiring for fast and secure installation.

Barco Systems (Australia): (03) 9646 5833 or www.barco.com

Australia’s Decimator Design has added two new portable multiviewers to its range: the DMON-16S and ‘lite’ DMON-16SL version, with LCD screens and button control for easy access to features without complicated LED/button controls, dip switches or a computer to change a simple setting. The DMON-16S is a 1-to-16 channel mulitviewer with DSI and HDMI outputs for 3G/HD/SD and includes custom layouts, UMDs, audio meters, graticules and tallies. Low latency buffering allows non-synchronous inputs, with each independent window able to display any of the formats of any frame rate simultaneously. The multiview layouts are fully customisable, with various standard layouts also available for selection. Positioning and size of the 16 character UMDs and 8 channel audio metering overlays are also customisable. The DMON16SL version is a lower-cost 1-to-16 channel device with HDMI output, for 3G/HD/SD and also includes custom layouts. The two models are available now, and will be on display at the NAB 2015 exhibition in Las Vegas, April 13 to 16.

The AV Group: (02) 9764 5911 or www.avgroup.com.au Decimator Design: decimator.com

Audio-Technica has bridged the gap between audio and IT with the first wired microphone that transmits audio and control data over a Dante network. The new ATND971 cardioid condenser boundary network mic is a plug-and-play solution using the very low latency Dante network protocol and, as a network device with its own IP address, can be accessed from virtually anywhere.

A simple Ethernet connection allows communication across an existing network of Dante-enabled devices and with the microphone’s programmable user switch, controls any of those devices at the push of a button.

Destined for boardrooms and other meeting spaces, the ATND971 boundary mic includes a red/green LED to indicate mute status, incoming phone calls or other creative visual effects, and an integrated user switch to control external devices such as room lighting, triggering and pan/tilting a video camera, and more. It’s phantom powered by network PoE and, as Dante can support up to 512 bidirectional audio channels, offers an easily scalable solution. Price: AUD$995.

Technical Audio Group: (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au Audio-Technica: www.audio-technica.com

• Get your daily news fix at www.avapac.net

TANNOY HORNS IN Tannoy’s latest, debuted at ISE 2015, takes the company’s horn heritage to a whole new area of application. The Tannoy THL-1 tunnel loudspeaker provides a robust, cost-effective solution for Emergency Voice Alarm/Communication (EVAC) systems in the physically and acoustically hostile environment of road tunnels, transmitting crisp, controlled and intelligible voice announcements from a minimum number of loudspeaker locations.

The speaker incorporates an asymmetrical AFEX (Architectural Flare Extension) horn, which leverages the acoustical properties of the tunnel wall to effectively extend the waveguide effect for greater directivity and increased propagation along the horn axis. It is designed to withstand the rigours exposure to harsh environments, and to function reliably even in proximity to catastrophic fire and explosive events.

Cable entry to the driver/transformer housing is tightly sealed by rubber grommets, and an AirNet backing behind the stainless steel grille prevents moisture ingress to the horn. The THL-1 installs quickly and securely using six mounting holes for fixing to threaded rods or bolts attached to the tunnel soffit or unistrut.

Audio Products Group: (02) 9669 3477 or www. audioproducts.com.au Tannoy Professional: www.tannoypro.com

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NEWS

NEWS

017

CHRISTIE WEIGHS IN

4K TO DISPLAY PORT 1.2 CONVERTER

SONY 4K MEMORY PLAYER

The first offering from Christie’s Boxer series of 3DLP solutions is the 4K30 projector for rental staging and fixed installations, launched at ISE 2015. With six 450W mercury lamps delivering 30,000 centre lumens, the unit weighs 68kg and is loaded with Christie Twist, which allows images to be blended and warped onto curved or irregular surfaces, and TruLife electronics which supports native 4K as well as HD signals with onboard upscaling. The model is equipped with full connectivity including 3G-SDI, HDBaseT, Display Port, DVI-I, HDMI, VGA and 5 BNC, plus a colour LCD preview panel readout and a complete lens suite. “The brightness-to-size and brightness-to-weight ratios of the Boxer 4K30 is second-to-none in this lumen level of projector,” said senior product manager Mike Garrido.

“This translates to not only the lightest projector at 30,000 lumens, but also reduced shipping costs and on-site handling. Boxer is optimised to provide an unprecedented user experience and everything from ease of use to lumens to durability to shipping size to weight has been taken into account.”

Christie Digital Systems Australia: (07) 3624 4888 or christiedigital.com

Apantac’s Micro-4K-DP launched at ISE 2015 provides a 4K converter for viewing 4K/UHD resolution on monitors and projectors that use Display Port 1.2, an alternative display interface to HDMI. The new converter accepts four 3G-SDI signals from professional 4K/QFHD at 50/59.94/60Hz equipment, and can also be used as a simple fixed Quad-Split.

Apantac says Display Port 1.2 is the only monitor interface supporting 4096/3840 x 2160 resolution at 50/59.94/60Hz frame rates and 4:4:4/4:2:2, in 8 and 10 bits sampling until "real" HDMI 2.0 interface components (rather than HDMI 2.0a) become available. Several cost effective UHD monitors with DP 1.2 interface are now available on the market. With plug and play operation and auto detect inputs, the Micro-4K-DP converter suits professional audiovisual applications including live events, rental and staging, video wall applications, multiviewer applications, 4K production, and other monitoring and conversion applications. It’s part of the Oregon-based company’s Crescent line of signal processors.

Techtel: (02) 9906 1488 or www.techtel.com.au Apantac: www.apantac.com

Sony has announced its new 4K SxS memory player, the PMW-PZ1, will be available from June this year.

The device features playback capability for 4K (24p to 60p) and HD video, and supports formats including XAVC Intra, XAVC Long, MPEG HD422 and MPEG HD. “The PMW-PZ1 addresses the market need for an affordable, simple-to-use and compact 4K playback solution,” says Sony Australia senior product manager Anthony Kable. “It is compatible with a variety of formats, possesses a host of practical inputs/outputs for easy connections, and offers an intuitive interface readily operated by all users.” The player is equipped with an SxS card slot, HDMI output, four 3G/HD-SDI outputs, an audio output and LCD colour monitor.

During field or location shoots, 4K images captured by Sony’s PMW-F55 camera can be checked immediately on the PMW-PZ1, or output to a professional monitor or consumer TV via HDMI. At event venues, 4K video can be output to digital signage or projectors. It can also be used to copy data from SxS media directly to external storage without employing other devices.

Sony Australia: 1300 720 071 or pro.sony.com.au

SCALING AHEAD

IN-EARS ADD MONITORING

ARRI L10 FRESNEL

Crestron leapt ahead of the curve at ISE 2015 with the industry’s first 4K/60Hz scaler, which converts any resolution and frame rate to any other resolution and frame rate up to 4096x2160 at 60Hz. The new DM-RMC-4K-Scaler-C fulfills a core component of the DM3.0 digital standard with uncompressed bitfor-bit 4K/60 distribution and scaling, with razorsharp images and smooth motion. The model provides an advanced one-box interface solution for a single display device as part of a complete DM system. It functions as a DM receiver, 4K/60Hz video scaler, and control interface, providing a single HDMI output along with Ethernet, RS-232, IR, and relay control ports. It delivers high-quality video wall processing – using the zoom capability on its output to display just a portion of the source image, it can support up to 64 individual displays such as an eight-by-eight video wall. At just over an inch deep, the scaler fits discreetly behind a flat panel display or above a ceiling-mounted projector.

All connections are located on its sides to provide easy access and visibility for a clean, easily serviceable installation.

Hills SVL: 1800 685 487 or www.hillssvl.com.au Crestron: www.crestron.com

DPA’s newest d:fine in-ear broadcast headset microphone integrates a monitoring component, eliminating the need for separate monitors and headset mics. "We have succeeded in combining two parallel systems and creating an easy to use solution," says DPA product manager Mikkel Nymand.

"This solves the irritating problem broadcast studio hosts and guests currently face of having two sets of components and wires to deal with. It also offers a solution that is simple to fit, comfortable to wear and unobtrusive for both the host and the viewer." The unit incorporates two cables – microphone and in-ear – that run parallel for a tidy look. A spring steel construction at the ear-hook offers quick mounting, while the cable length to the integrated in-ear plug(s) can be adjusted.

Any excess cable can be wound up around the plug or placed behind the outer ear, while a cable steer at the headset mount controls the cable run down the neck.

The headset mount size is easy to adjust and a choice of left and right ear orientation means it’s possible to give a broadcast host a 'camera blind' side.

Amber Technology: 1800 251 367 or www.ambertech.com.au DPA: www.dpamicrophones.com

Arri has introduced its L10, the brightest and largest of its L-Series of LED Fresnels. The lamphead offers a substantial 25cm (10-inch) Fresnel lens and powerful output for more distant fixture placement, and to wrap light around objects in a natural way. Like its smaller counterparts in the range, the L10 is fully colour tuneable with the ability to adjust the colour temperature from 2800 to 10,000 K as well as the green/magenta point. It comes in three versions: the L10-C (Colour), L10-TT (Tungsten Tuneable) and L10-DT (Daylight Tuneable). The L10-C is the most versatile with regard to colour tuneability; the L10-TT and L10DT are brighter and offer a select CCT tuning range.

Consuming 400W, the L10 is very energy efficient. The L10-TT and DT versions have a brightness level close to that of a 2000W tungsten Fresnel, which means that with the same power consumption as a single conventional 2kW tungsten light, you can run five L10s and achieve almost five times the light output.

Arri Australia: (02) 9855 4300 or info@arri.com.au

• Get your daily news fix at www.avapac.net

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Projection Mapping Street Art

A highlight of this year’s White Night Melbourne was a world first graffiti mapping exhibit delivered by Technical Direction Company on a five storey high, 70m-long canvas for the 12-hour nocturnal event in February.

Inspired by Paris’ Nuit Blanche and the international network of White Night programmes around the world, the third annual Melbourne event featured local, national and international artists and works from Australia, France, Canada, Greece, Portugal, India and the United Kingdom, explained artistic director Andrew Walsh.

As a preferred technology supplier, TDC provided video projection technology and expertise to various exhibits across the event’s schedule, but the street art project was of particular interest. Sofles – Graffiti Mapped was a pioneering interactive mural project curated by urban art consultancy Juddy Roller, exploring the interconnected nature of street art, technology and the online frontier.

It combined 3D video mapping, traditional street art and graffiti, executed by Australian street artist, Sofles, with creative direction by Juddy Roller, motion design by Grant Osborne, cinematography by Selina Miles, and a musical score by New Zealand producer Opiuo.

“TDC provided Barco HDX Flex projectors, lenses and control system, as well as on-site technical support for this and other areas at the festival,” explained TDC regional manager Brad Williams.

“The load-in times were incredibly tight.

Yet it was a true delight to work on such a groundbreaking street art project. The merging of street art with the latest projection mapping tech created a visual spectacular that is clearly going to set a trend for future projects. These types of projects always help our team to test the technologies that we use to the absolute limit, which means that we are constantly using them in new and exciting ways.”

Juddy Roller owner Shaun Hossack personally selected Sofles and worked closely with the production team to set up the event over four days after Sofles created the initial artwork for the canvas. “Projection mapping means so much for artists in being able to express their artwork using technology,” Hossack said.

“The façade had quite a lot of negative space that helped the motion designers to have creativity and freedom to design the piece. The narrative includes peace, war, technological advancement to ultimate destruction and re-birth.

“And TDC was absolutely vital to the entire project in bringing Sofles’ work to life. Plus, animation artist Grant Osborne already knew TDC, so naturally we said we wanted to work with TDC for 3D projection mapping.”

Osborne mapped content using MadMapper video mapping software, and TDC assisted by giving pixel space for the content, using the Barco HDX-W20 Flex 20,000 lumens projectors’ warp function to correct it.

“TDC managed all the large scale technical stuff and the work when it came to projection all of which, operationally, ran very smoothly indeed,” Hossack said. “In future, we’d like to bring in a little more interactivity and use lighting designers to bring the audience a little more into it. That would be next logical step forward.

“I had always worked with street artists as a project manager and creative director, so White Night Melbourne was an amazing opportunity to bring it all together, where we created the world first graffiti mapping – something that had never been done before. And something that we think left a deep and lasting impression on the Melbourne skyline long after the lights went out at this year’s festival.”  White Night Melbourne: whitenightmelbourne.com.au Sofles: www.sofles.com Technical Direction Company: www.tdc.com.au Juddy Roller: juddyroller.com.au

Images courtesy of Juddy Roller and Technical Direction Company

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HDBaseT HDBaseIP: The Way of the Future?

BlueRiver NT – another leap forward for AV kind Text:/ Andy Ciddor

Just a few years ago I returned from the InfoComm show excited at having seen some prototypes of equipment built around the new, paradigm-shifting HDBaseT chipset from Valens. Designed to wring the maximum throughput from a category 5 UTP cable (about 11Gbps), this asymmetric approach to packing data allowed uncompressed HDMI data, bidirectional 100Mbps Ethernet, a range of serial control signals (EDID, USB2, RS-232, IR) plus 100VA of DC power to be carried 60m+ pointto-point by a single bog-standard, unshielded twisted-pair cable (blue string). Initially intended to extend the applications of HDMI (at that time still considered a limited transmission length domestic/residential data distribution format), HDBaseT has been grasped firmly with both

hands by the pro AV industry as a low-cost solution for point-to-point signal distribution and reticulation in applications ranging from digital signage, to video walls and collaboration spaces. HDBaseT has swept from prototype to recognition as an IEEE standard in less than half a decade. While it has not proved to be an AV industry panacea, HDBaseT has simplified many distribution problems and opened up whole new areas of AV product development.

CANS & CAN’TS OF HDBASET

Squeezing so much data down an ordinary UTP cable, doesn’t really leave room for much else, which limits HDBaseT to a single signal set between two directly-connected points, and while it can transport 4K video, it tops out at

about 30 frames per second (fps), which is pretty much all most of us are likely to need for some time to come.

The more recent versions of the HDBaseT chipset have made it much easier for OEMs to access all the signal types embedded in the data stream, which makes designing gear around it cheaper and faster to bring to market. They also allowed signal replication over a local buss and thus enabled the development of devices with multiple outputs, which has led to a deluge of multipleoutput HDBaseT devices and switch matrices.

What HDBaseT hasn’t done is take AV the next important step down the long road of AV/ IT convergence. Sure it uses the same cable types as Ethernet, which makes it easier to install into existing IT infrastructure, and cheaper all round

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because it uses inexpensive commodity UTP, but it’s really not much more converged with IT than the long video coax and audio cables we’ve used for decades.

HDBASEIP

While we have been moving audio and video over TCP/IP networks for a long time now, the applications have been restricted to relatively low resolution images, at relatively low refresh rates and quite often with some fairly aggressive compression applied too. We’ve also had to live with IP’s slightly treacherous ‘best effort’ delivery and lack of determinacy. Getting uncompressed, very high definition (4K) video at frame rates exceeding 25fps across an IP network with its packetisation and header overheads is pushing at the boundaries of what information theory says is possible.

AptoVision, a company formed in Montreal, Canada by a group of former Matrox employees, has been working on the problem of getting stable high definition video to move across a TCP/IP network for a while now. It started out by developing a synchronous low-latency FPGAbased chipset that allows video sources and sinks to accurately reclock the frame synchs across a 10Gbps Ethernet network with zero frame latency and jitter, and a genlocking capability. This enables the distribution of very high definition video across a standard 10GbE network using the commercial off-the-shelf (OTS) 10Gb fibre, twisted-pair cable and switches available from any IT supplier. While this meets the need for stable networked video, it was only a partial solution for the distribution of AV over IP. BlueRiver NT which was released by AptoVision at ISE in February, is a further development of this chipset. It takes the whole process of AV signal distribution into a new realm.

In an AV sense, BlueRiver NT can best be summed up as the networked version of HDBaseT in the way it channels the whole gamut of audiovisual signal types over a 10GbE network.

Included in the suite of signals handled by the BlueRiver NT chipset are: • Pass-through extension, transmission and switching of uncompressed HDMI/DVI digital video, including all 3D modes, at all resolutions up to Ultra-HD (4K) at 30fps (4K at 60fps currently uses 4:2:0 subsampling). Plug ’n’ play with no EDID learning requirements.

HDMI 2.0 and DVI 2.0 compliant HDCP. • HDMI multi-channel digital audio and audio return channel, including up to 32 channels of LPCM, Dolby Digital/Plus/EX, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS-96/24, DTS-EX DSD, DTS High Res, DTS-HD Master, plus two analogue channels each, 24-bits at 48kHz. • Stereo Audio: analogue and digital (S/PDIF/ TOSLink) • HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEAC) at 10/100/1Gbps • Bidirectional RS-232 (at baud rates up to 115,200) • Bidirectional IR (infrared) • USB 2.0 (up to 480 Mb/s) • Custom OEM data (using generic data interface) Signal range over a 10GbE network is 100m over Cat5e/6 UTP; 1km over multimode fibre (50µm/62.5, 850nm), and up to 30km over single mode fibre (9µm, 1310nm).

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analysis tools, and plentiful supplies of skilled techs and administrators, can finally become the backbone for AV systems. More than ever, AV is now about the acquisition and display of audiovisual information and less about the transport mechanism between devices. We’ve always been happy to hook in to the existing electrical grid to power our projects. BlueRiver NT is the dawn of the age where we can just hook in to the existing data grid to carry our data between the specialised audiovisual endpoints.

The importance of the development of the BlueRiver NT chipset has not been lost on equipment manufacturers, many of whom are currently developing products to exploit its capabilities. The technology has been winning awards for innovation at trade shows, while prototypes of gear using the chipset were on display (mostly under the counter) at ISE in February. There’s no doubt that many more will be around at the US InfoComm show in June. Aurora Multimedia is already using its trademarked term IPBaseT to describe its range of Ethernet-based distribution products based on the chipset. The name does have a catchy ring to it. My tip for AV systems designers is to start looking around for a good source of well-priced and reliable 10GbE switches, because you’re likely to be using them by the pallet-load before too long.  MORE INFO AptoVision: www.aptovision.com

SEALED WITH A THUD

Suddenly AV and IT converge with a resounding thud. The Ethernet network, with its decades of R&D, equipment development, commodity pricing, short product cycles, ready availability, packet-sniffing and low level monitoring and

All The AV Industry Employment News Delivered to your IN box every week any time you want it at www.avapac.net

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FEATURE

BCEC Sprouts Wing Brisbane’s Convention and Entertainment Centre expansion creates top class facilities for events of any scale.

Text:/ Derek Powell

Convention Centres are a uniquely challenging environment in which to practice the audiovisual arts and sciences. If nothing else the sheer diversity of events that daily roll through the doors tends to eclipse challenges faced by other kinds of venues. The in-house audiovisual team at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) prides itself on being ready for anything and in recent months has indeed hosted everything from the G20 Leader’s Summit to Chinese Opera.

“Flexibility is the key,” explained Brian Nash, AV and production services manager, as we toured the recent expansion to the centre known as ‘BCEC on Grey Street’. He is right of course, but as we’ll see, flexibility was needed not just in the operational sense, but at many points during the design and completion of the AU$130M extension.

SQUEEZING A LOT IN

The new wing is perched on a narrow strip of land, just 30 metres wide, adjoining the original Merivale Street BCEC development, but fronting Brisbane’s Southbank. The Grey Street addition holds two new auditoria and twenty additional meeting spaces, ranging from a boardroom to a ballroom, across five levels. The new space is not just flexible but also a very connected environment, with the capacity to split or combine rooms at the touch of an on-screen button and the ability to relay video and audio from anywhere across the complex. So it is no surprise at all that planning for infrastructure that needed to literally ‘be ready for anything’ was an intricate business.

“Our aim was flexibility” reiterated Phil Viney of DesignStage – the consultants responsible for the design of the audiovisual, stage machinery and draping components of the new facilities. He was recalling his approach to the overall design framework, but as it turned out, considerable flexibility was also required in the budget in order to meet the project objectives. Viney had the unenviable task of commencing the design work four years from the completion date, at a time when our industry was undergoing profound technological changes in key areas. Just over the horizon was the digital video revolution and audio distribution was reinventing itself with the unstoppable rise of DSP and new kinds of networked signal transport systems.

DesignStage had extensive consultations with Brian Nash and his team to set the objectives for the technology design for Grey Street, urging the team to first decide what was needed for the tasks they would face. “Think about value, rather than cost” Phil Viney advised. The resulting return brief ultimately proved very close to the mark, but created an immediate headache. DesignStage costed the equipment and infrastructure wish-list at AU$8M, while the preliminary budget allowed by the Quantity Surveyors was very considerably less than that!

SILK PURSE ON SOW’S EAR BUDGET

Sadly, technology budgets, even for major projects, often do start out staggeringly low.

As Phil notes: “Somehow that [arbitrary] figure becomes your target – unless you vigorously

“Keeping the best till last proved to be a wise move”

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defend your brief and go into bat for it – and that’s what we did”. With enthusiastic support from Brian Nash and BCEC Operations Director Geoff Hanrahan, the final equipment and infrastructure budget eventually settled on a more realistic figure of something over AU$5m, but DesignStage had one more trick to ensure that the project extracted every possible cent of value from the budget. While all the infrastructure such as cabling, racks, patching and built-in equipment went into the construction package, all the loose equipment including consoles, flown speaker arrays, lighting instruments and the like was placed in a separate ‘eleventh hour’ procurement package. Purchasing for this equipment could then be delayed by several years until the building was nearly complete, allowing the project to then take advantage of the rapid development in equipment by buying the latest models.

The strategy worked spectacularly well, and the BCEC in-house lighting, sound and AV facilities are second to none, with rapid turn-

around between functions and instant linking of spaces facilitated by the extensive built-in patching and rigging.

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Left: The tall and narrow structure dictated by site limitations.

Above: Boulevard auditorium. Both auditoria are flexible enough to host stage productions in addition to plenary sessions for conferences.

PARALLEL UNIVERSES

Though there are five levels, BCEC on Grey Street can function very effectively to host two simultaneous conferences. Each of the two auditoria (seating 400 or 600) has its own foyer space for exhibitions, break-out rooms and speakers’ facilities – allowing delegates to ‘own’ the floor for their conference.

Viney’s patching plan for Grey Street is enormously flexible. Each room contains a rack with connections out to the presentation area and strategic points around the room (depending on size). Each rack on every level is joined by dedicated tie lines with video, audio, data and fibre runs allowing almost any kind of connection to allow presentations to be shared between spaces. In addition at least one rack on each floor has patching to a central rack on floors above and below allowing virtually any

combination of rooms to be accessed. All spaces have semi-permanent operator stations that can be equipped with vision switchers, audio mixers and lighting consoles to cover requirements of any complexity. As you would expect, these operator stations have links to a number of projection and PA points, as well as the key stage and presentation areas.

The two auditoria are striking in design and provide a very flexible space for plenary sessions, with a stage area spacious enough to easily accommodate a speaker panel or even allow musical or small-scale theatrical performances.

Each has an open operator station at the rear with plenty of space (and patch points) for audio, video and lighting consoles. as well as video cameras. While the control, PA and projection equipment were placed into the 11th hour fit-

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out package (see sidebar) the infrastructure package did include the main audio DSP which was interfaced with the centre-wide paging and background music systems via Cobranet.

CONTROLLED FLEXIBILITY

An AMX control system is included in each of the auditoria. The touch screens are generally for room setup and mode selection, rather than for presentation control by an operator, though both are technically possible. Each central controller is interfaced with the house lighting, blackout blinds, and curtains as well as having basic control over the sound system. The control system can also provide basic stage management functions such as control of any performance relay cameras and zone paging to back of house areas.

Fixed lighting bars and motorized trusses (generally each with 500kg capacity) were specified above the stage and over the seating areas. The rigging had specific provision for central projection points (for single screens) and dual projection positions as well as rear projection points.

The lighting provisions are extensive and well thought-out. Dimmers, dimmer outlets, lighting bars, patch panels, and DMX lighting control distribution were all part of the infrastructure package while the luminaires and consoles were left until the fit-out. Cleverly, most major rooms have both central dimmer racks and provision via 40A three-phase outlets to add extra dimmer/distribution racks wherever needed.

This adds enormously to the flexibility for setup while keeping complexity (and dimmer/distro inventory) under control.

PRINCIPAL PERSONNEL Design and Consulting: Phil Viney & Ian Laird (DesignStage) (AV, stage machinery & drapes) Architect: Cox Rayner AV Integration: EO Design Stage machinery/drapes: Jands BCEC: Geoff Hanrahan (Operations Director) Brian Nash (AV and Production Services Manager)

Top: Boulevard room set in cabaret format.

Above: Spacious wi-fi enabled shared foyers add to the functionality of all spaces in the Grey Street wing.

HD & 4K Media Players for digital signage and IPTV An extensive range of slim profile, multi-zone players offering: High quality video, HTML5 and Flash速 playback. Ideal for digital signage networks, video walls and screen galleries.

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ONELAN Australasia NSW: +61 2 801 56735 VIC: +61 3 911 11833 Mob: +64 275 892007 Email: oc.sales@onelan.com

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Left: Grey Street site is barely 30m wide.

Right: Full overstage rigging and FOH bridges and ceiling slots allow comprehensive rigging for auditorium productions.

FITOUT KIT

Keeping the best till last proved to be a wise move as Brian was able to snap up the very latest in lighting, vision and audio. Both the Digico SD9 and the Yamaha LS-9 series consoles that were finally chosen were far and away superior to anything that could have been specified early on in the project and both practically obviate the need for racks of outboard processing with extensive EQ, dynamics and effects capabilities provided on each channel. Likewise the extensive snapshot and recall capabilities give operators a very quick starting point for set-up, speeding change-over time between functions and eliminating much of the drudgery in setting up for shows.

There’s too much more to this story to tell in

just one article, but the function rooms, especially the stunning Boulevard room and Sky room are worthy of special mention. Cleverly conceived ‘black zones’ in the ceilings of each space allow functions to be fitted with extensive lighting and sound when required yet these rigging positions virtually disappear when not in use. This allows a very clean and elegant look when dressed for a formal dinner, yet each of these major function rooms retains the ability to be rigged with a tourde-force display of start of the art lighting and sound that would rival any top club venue.

The Grey Street project at BCEC has given smaller conventions access to truly top-end function rooms that, thanks to a uniquely flexible partnership between designers and operators, provides unrivalled opportunity for an uncompromised audiovisual experience. 

EQUIPMENT LIST – (INSTALLED INFRASTRUCTURE) Audio DSP: Biamp AudiaFlex Audio amplifiers: Dynacord BGM loudspeakers: JBL Control series Electrovoice EVID Acoustic Technology LG series (customised) Hearing assistance: I-AMP induction loops AV control: AMX throughout Intercom: Clearcom DMX distribution: Jands Projection screens: Screen Technics

EQUIPMENT LIST – (FIT-OUT PACKAGE) AUDIO Auditoria, Boulevard room, and Sky room.

VISION Meeting rooms:

Consoles:

Projectors:

Sony VPLFX35

Screens:

Screen Technics

DIGICO SD9; Yamaha LS9-32 and LS9 -16

Amplification: Camco D-Power; Nexo NX 4X4

Auditoria and Boulevard room

Processing:

Projectors:

Barco RLM W8 (DLP)

Screens:

Stumpfl 20 x 11 and 16 x 9

Xilica XD4080

Speakers: NEXO S1210 (L & R PA) NEXO S1230 (down fill) NEXO PS10 –R2 (centre cluster) NEXO RS15C (subs) NEXO PS10-R2 (foldbacks) NEXO PS15-R2 (floating PA systems) NEXO RS15 C (floating PA subs) JBL ceiling mount speakers (meeting rooms)

Switchers: Panasonic AV HS400A Folsom Image Pro HD Barco PDS 902 presentation switchers Capture/replay: AJA HD Pro Res video capture Cameras: Tripods

JVC GY-HM77E HD Miller

LIGHTING Auditoria, Sky room and Boulevard room Luminaires 3 × Robert Juliat Victor follow spots 72 × Selecon SPX profiles (assorted lenses) 20 × Selecon Acclaim 650W fresnels.

16 × Color Kinetics Colorblast LED cyc floods 30 × Tri-colour LED PAR wash 20 × Martin MAC Entour 350 LED profile 16 × Robe Robin 600 LED wash 40 × Martin Mac 101 LED wash 20 × Martin Mac 301 LED wash Control Jands HPC dimmers Strand 200 series 12/24 consoles (meeting rooms) LSC Clarity VX 20 consoles (auditoria and Boulevard room).

Relax…It’s Under Control.

Core 250i

Conferencing

Projectors

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Screen Controllers

Today’s A/V environment features a wide variety of audio/visual products designed to offer compelling multimedia and conferencing solutions. Simplifying the task of putting all these devices under the centralized control of the end user can be daunting. Not so with Q-Sys. The powerful yet simple design of a Q-Sys system makes it easy to interface with all manner of third party devices. Featuring built-in GPIO and RS-232 ports and conforming to protocols like TCP/IP, UDP and SIP, Q-Sys can: • Control 3rd party devices like Video Switchers and Lighting Interface Controls.

• Accept commands from 3rd-Party hardware devices like AMX® and Crestron® control panels.

• Accept commands from 3rd-Party software for Show Control.

Want to learn more? Visit us online or contact your local QSC distributor for a demonstration.

qsc.com More info? Contact TAG. Ph (02) 9519 0900 - info@tag.com.au - tag.com.au qsc.com

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FEATURE

Night at the (Military) Museum AV Editor Andy Ciddor takes an after hours, behind the scenes tech tour of the enormous Netherlands National Military Museum.

Text:/ Andy Ciddor Images:/ Jeffrey Steenbergen (Courtesy of NMM-NL)

Creating a military museum from (literally) the ground up is a once-in-acentury opportunity to deploy the entire armoury of audiovisual presentation and design tools to tell a wide range of stories.

Constructed for the Netherlands Ministry for Defence in the Soesterberg Airbase Park, a former military airbase located near the city of Utrecht some 60km from Amsterdam, the recently-opened National Military Museum brings together the collections of the Military Aviation Museum in Soesterberg and the Army Museum in Delft in Europe’s largest military museum. The building, a EUR 130 million ground-hugging 10m x 240m black steel and glass box in the contemporary Dutch style, features some 35,000sqm of exhibition spaces in a mix of daytime viewable exhibits of military hardware on a grand scale, complemented by 17 widelyvarying exhibition spaces in the ‘black box’ section of the museum.

PROFESSIONAL MUSTER

The Netherlands government called for tenders to design, finance, construct, maintain, manage and operate both the museum and its exhibitions and displays, over a 25-year period. The winning bid was submitted by a group put together by Heijmans, one of The Netherlands’ largest construction firms. Felix Claus Dick van Wageningen architects designed the project in partnership with H + N + S Landscape Architects and exhibition designer Kossmann.dejong. Project managers Bruns handled the interior, project management, development, engineering, production and installation of exhibits, while the audiovisual systems, lighting design, system integration and control was placed in the hands of Rapenburg Plaza.

“Rapenburg Plaza was brought in at the beginning of the project to develop a wholly

integrated lighting design, multimedia, audio and show control system,” said Maarten Taborsky, Project Director at Bruns B.V. “It needed to be simple to use, maintain and deploy combining all media over an IT infrastructure.”

On the December 13, 2014, His Majesty, King Willem Alexander of The Netherlands opened the museum at a spectacular military ceremony complete with the Royal Military Band, cannon shots and groups of the services marching about amidst shouting and boots stamping. With all the publicity, crowds came flooding into the museum and

by January 25 the 100,000th punter passed through the turnstiles and won a ride in a military balloon.

AFTER HOURS TECH TOUR

In mid-February, when I was in Amsterdam for the Integrated Systems Europe show I was privileged to join an after-hours

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Displays at NMM include a lot of impressive pieces of military hardware, ranging from fighter jets and helicopters, to courier bikes, armoured personnel carriers and a WWII German V2 rocket. The largest aircraft in the collection can be seen through the windows, parked outside under cover on the tarmac.

technical tour of the museum conducted by Rapenburg Plaza the AV designers, suppliers and integrators for the project.

It’s a pity we’d all been on the frantic trade show floor for the day (1000+ booths and 59,350 visitors) and only had the opportunity for a 90-minute fast-paced backstage tour of a museum that could easily engage any visitor for well over a full opening day. At least our group of technical tourists were in the knowledgeable hands of systems designer Sierk Janszen, who when not busy as a partner and Technical Director at Rapenburg Plaza, has a side gig as founder of show control equipment builder, Kiss-Box. As you would expect, the displayed collection features a vast array of military hardware from the last 1000 years, ranging from jet fighters and ejection seats to uniforms, swords, muskets, suits of armour and amphibious vehicles. While

these objects are fascinating and superbly displayed, they aren’t actually at the heart of the museum experience.

As a responsible and thoughtful member of the 21st century European Union, the voice of the National Military Museum (NMM) is far from militaristic and far from being a celebration of the Netherlands’ glorious history as an enthusiastic imperial trading nation and colonist. Indeed a great deal of emphasis is placed on the defensive nature of its military history and its present peacekeeping, disaster relief and civil defence roles.

FULL AV BAG OF TRICKS

Like any national museum the NMM has three main duties: to engage and inform the population about their heritage and their place in the world; to generate tourist income for the region by being a fun and interesting place to visit; and most importantly, to act as a national teaching resource for the coachloads of children that arrive every day of the school year. The design and content of the galleries and exhibits and the AV content and presentations at the NMM meet all of these goals with subtlety and style, using the entire repertoire of audiovisual tools and techniques.

The NMM itself may be a brand new museum, but of course the items in its collections vary between being old and very old. Some of the displays also use ancient

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museum presentation techniques.

My earliest recollections of the museum in my childhood, the National Museum of Victoria, are of stuffed birds, mammals and monotremes carefully placed in painted panoramic plaster diorama displays and lit with simple effects to simulate animal activity at different times of the day (pushing the start button was my favourite part). The NMM uses a similar approach with its huge scale-model of a military garrison which cycles through its daily military activities with the aid of sound and theatrical lighting in a miniature son-et-lumiere presentation.

The 21st century touch is the six video cameras linked with their ruggedised, military-style (ie. in a Pelican case) integrated monitor screen and PTZ controllers that enable visitors to zoom in on a particular activity then seek more information about it from the online knowledge base.

At the other end of the spectrum, are the many multi-screen, panoramic, 3D surfacemapped and even spherically-mapped projections used in a wide variety of the exhibits. Perhaps the most impressive is the 14-metre perforated-metal dome covered by nine Digital Projection projectors driven by a 7thSense Delta media server to provide fullsurround vision and audio for an immersive presentation about Dutch forces throughout the centuries. One interesting moment is the description of how the Dutch forces soundly defeated the first onslaught of the German

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blitzkrieg at the beginning of WWII, only to be completely overrun just a few days later, at which point the Dutch wisely surrendered to avoid further unnecessary bloodshed.

MINIS, MICROS & PICOS

Micro-movies and mini-docs are a major storytelling tool for the exhibits. Whether it’s LED pico-projectors inside replicas of old televisions, individual screens framed as pictures and wall posters or mini singlecouch theatres, there is a lot of narrative story-telling rather simple slideshows or loops of archival footage. Delivery for this material is not streamed from a central media server or even from a media server for each gallery or exhibit. The Raapu media player used to deliver video material throughout the museum was developed by Tony ter Neuzen, network and systems engineer at Rapenburg Plaza when a previous museum project called for a stand-alone media player with remote triggering, content updating and status monitoring capabilities.

Rapenburg Plaza is a very technologyoriented company, producing in-house hardware and software to solve some of

FEATURE

the unique problems in the projects they undertake. The museum-wide systems management, control and monitoring software that effectively runs the AV and lighting for the NMM via its IP network and a collection of Kiss-Box interfaces is another such project.

Nevertheless, the majority of the technology employed across the museum is based on the usual range of off-the-shelf solutions, such as the touch-interactive Pufferfish sphere and Dataton Watchout for the 4.5m four-projector spherical display in the Present, Past and Future exhibits in the Exit hall; Watchout and Watchpax servers for several curved and blended multi-projector and multi-panel screens; and 7thSense’s dome projection solution. Lighting control is via a distributed network of 23 Pharos DMX controllers between them driving some 8000 channels of LED sources, all orchestrated through a Medialon show controller talking to a collection of Kiss-Box interfaces.

PHILIPS LIGHTING TREAT

Lighting for the thousands of objects on display is by a fleet of around 3900 LED

sources based around a custom Philips RGBW chip array (it is The Netherlands after all). The inventory includes 1519 custom-built zoom display profiles and not a few display and theatrical fixtures from Selecon in NZ (now of course owned by Philips). The use of RGBW LED means zero UV and acceptably little IR to damage the exhibits while overall illumination levels can be kept in the safe range for delicate exhibits with little or no colour shift due to dimming.

Rapenburg Plaza’s theatrical lighting roots came to the fore in the design of the overhead rigging facilities for the exhibition spaces, with the architects and the builders won over by the idea of theatrical-style lighting bridges to allow rigging and maintenance staff to gain easy access to the overhead gear for maintenance purposes. I’m pretty sure it’s only going to be projector lamps that get changed most of the time from the bridges, because the LEDs in the luminaires are probably going to last about half-way into the 15-year maintenance contract before they start to become much of an issue.

Of course, the museum caters to the bored, caffeine-loaded children who

FEATURE

Left: One of the few tilted 360° dome projection screens in Europe, the 14m perforated dome carries full-surround images from nine Digital Projection Highlite projectors on the front surface while an array of speakers behind the dome provides immersive surround sound to match. Projectors are secreted in slots around the audience entrance doors and near the floor at the sides of the seating (and as in all 360° systems, many of the audience have at least one projector pointing pretty much straight into their eyes).

Above: The use of hundreds of individual LED profile spots in the display cabinets throughout the museum allows safe and appropriate levels of light for the exhibits while the high colour-temperature sources give the objects a sense of strong visual presence and sparkle.

Right: Netherlands and the World: A 25m-wide panoramic projection is positioned above a 7 x 10m elevated map. Projected video, surround audio and lighting on the map provide a presentation of the tactical and strategic posts in the Netherlands. The four custom designed ‘binoculars’ at the foot of the map zoom into the map positions, providing information about weapons used and map locations.

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Soldiers in the Spotlight Exhibit: Each booth is a dedicated mini-theatre complete with a couch, 42-inch monitor, Raapu media player and a memento or artefact related to the story of survival told from the perspective of a participant in a military operation. Stories range from those of active participants to support forces and innocent bystanders.

EQUIPMENT LIST HIGHLIGHTS Video Projectors DP E-Vision 7500 WUXGA × 11 DP E-Vision 6500 WXGA × 20 DP Highlite 660 WUXGA × 9 DP Highlite 740 1080p × 1 Panasonic PT RZ470EKJ × 10 Panasonic PT TW330 × 23 Panasonic PT DX610 × 2 Panasonic PT-EW530ELJ × 1 Vivitek Qumi Q2L × 12 Projection Design F35 × 2 Video Servers Dataton - Watchpax × 20 Raapu × 16 7thsense - Delta Nucleus F-12 × 1 NewHank - MP103 × 1 NewHank - BDP-620 × 1 Touchscreens Elo 0700L-NoTouch × 17 Elo 2244L-PCAP × 17 Elo 3243L-IT-P × 21 PQ Labs IR touchframe × 2 WinsonicOP101TH PCAP × 1 DTL101 × 6

Amplifiers Basetech AP-2100 × 20 Dynavox DA-30 × 30 Kemo M032S 12W Mono versterker × 1 Renkforce E-SA9 × 3 Caliber CA 250 × 2 Loudspeakers Meyer MM-4XPD × 21 Meyer UMS-1P SM × 1 Meyer UP-4XP × 13 Meyer MM-10XP × 7 Meyer MM-4XP × 27 Meyer UMS-1P × 2 Meyer UPM-1XP × 3 Meyer CAL-32 × 1 Visaton FRS 8 × 8 VisatonFRWS 5 × 84 Tannoy Di 5A × 30 Creative inspire T12 × 18 Yamaha DXS 15 × 1 K-Array KT20MA × 15 Fischer Bass Shaker Pump III × 2 Skytec SWMA-15 × 2

Computers Aaeon AEC-6646 × 40 AEC-6646 i5-3550S 8GB HD32GB × 2 Arbor Elit-1250 × 76 Flytech K757-C30 × 2 Zotac XS-AD13 × 14 HPS Antec i7 × 16 Apple MacMini × 2 Advantech HPC-7242 × 2 Chenbro GZ Server × 1 Switches HP ProCurve 2530-24 × 12 HP ProCurve 2530-24-PoE+ × 7 HP ProCurve 2530-24G × 2 Netgear FS108-200PES × 8 Software Microsoft WIN7 Pro × 67 Raapu Linux Debian × 87 Medialon Manager Lite × 1 Medialon Manager Pro × 1

PROJECT CREDITS

would much rather be sitting at home with a game-controller or hurtling around the neighborhood on a skateboard or a mountain bike rather than following their parents or siblings round some ‘boring old’ museum. There are a range of interactive exhibits that allow the little darlings to test the effectiveness of various historical weapons and types of armour or even take a flight in an F16 fighter simulator. I’m still uncertain as to the need for such exhibits and I know I’ve question their necessity in writing about other museums, perhaps now that I too have a hyperactive grandchild I may come to appreciate these travesties of

the art and science of museum design.

I really wish I’d had a lot more time to explore this amazing museum and had a proper chance to take in the vast amount of content that has been incorporated into the exhibits through the impressive range of display and presentation techniques. I’d like to take a more detailed look into the very humanist and culturally sensitive approach the Netherlands’ government is taking to informing its populace about the long-term impact of war and the military on the future of humanity. 

Lead Partner & Construction: Heijmans – heijmans.nl Architecture: Felix Claus Dick van Wageningen – www.clausvanwageningen.nl Landscape: H+N+S Landscape Architects – www.hnsland.nl Exhibition Design: Kossmann.dejong – kossmanndejong.nl Project Management: Bruns – www.bruns.nl AV & Lighting Design & System Integration: Rapenburg Plaza – www.rapenburgplaza.com Interactive Content: Shosho – www.shosho.nl Fabrique – www.fabrique.nl Aanpak film – www.aanpakfilm.nl

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FEATURE

Scaling the Heights of the G20 Summit Supplying network and comms to the peak of global meetings.

If conferences were mountain ranges, the G20 Summit would be the Himalayas. The ninth meeting of the G20 heads of government hosted in Brisbane last November drew world leaders including Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Shinzo Abe, Hoko Widodo and heads of the European Union, along with 4000 delegates and 2500 media to discuss the global economy and financial cooperation.

The event, Australia’s largest ever peacetime security operation, was held over two days in the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and Queensland’s Parliament House and Art Gallery and cost an estimated $400m.

As the iron curtain of security fell around Brisbane’s Southbank Precinct, Riedel Australia was busily preparing a robust fibre and radio network to cover the event, deploying the Mediornet real-time fibre infrastructure and more than 200 Hytera DMR radios.

“The brief was simple: the security details must always be able to see the leaders in certain locations,” explained the Brisbane Convention

and Exhibition Centre’s (BCEC) AV project manager, Richard Saunders. “We have a pretty good CCTV system here but nothing that would meet the requirements of the various stakeholders involved in this event.”

“The G20 Leader’s Summit was perfectly suited to our solutions,” added Riedel Australia’s Asia Pacific director, Cameron O’Neill. “A number of my crew and I worked on the APEC conference at the Sydney Opera House in 2007 where we also provided some solutions. But technology has changed quite a bit since then, so we were able to provide a much larger scope to the BCEC.” NO OPTION B

And the scope was certainly large. Alongside the host broadcast services provided by NEP Australia, Riedel and the BCEC provided video feeds to security details, delegates, media rooms and internal TV screens – all of which had to be on the air 24 hours a day, without fail. “‘Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy.

There is no Option B.’ That’s what we were told, and so Mediornet immediately sprung to mind,” Saunders said. “We would get requests during the event – ‘I need to see the Leader’s Room in Office 7 in Exhibition Hall 3!’ – and bang! Three seconds later there it was. Without Mediornet it would have taken us 15 minutes to re-patch everything.”

The security around the event was tight.

Even the broadcasters were not allowed in certain areas, meaning that the BCEC had to provide its own feeds for many of the requirements. “G20 allowed us to capture the attention of the international business events audience and showcase [our] expertise in cutting edge audiovisual, technical capabilities and skills,” said BCEC senior project manager, Rebecca Bell.

Mediornet provided transport of the vision feeds to and from the main conference rooms, media suites, hospitality areas, security zones and delegate offices. It also allowed the BCEC team to embed and de-embed any audio source

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Above left: Leaders' plenary session.

Above centre: Interpretation booths for the G20 retreat.

Left: Wired delegate stations for the Leaders' plenary session.

to and from the video streams, so if a delegate needed to hear a specific language on their video feed it was only a mouse-click away.

To support the event, the BCEC expanded its single-mode fibre network, significantly increasing capacity. “As video marches right past HD and into the realm of 4K, multi-mode cable is really going to start limiting people. So this new cabling is really going to help the convention centre in the future,” O’Neill explained.

Mediornet’s ability to route signals in real time was critical to the event. A total of 37 frames were installed throughout the BCEC, giving complete path and signal redundancy to the large number of HD video channels, Ethernet tunnels, and audio and comms channels. Riedel also provided a 24-hour confidence crew for the week of the event, ensuring that nothing went wrong.

the radios were able to seamlessly roam between the two buildings that make up the BCEC. “The BCEC is a challenging site. It consists of two buildings over a rail corridor,” said Riedel operations manager for the event, Jason Owen. “It’s not as simple as throwing up a single repeater base and hoping for the best, so Hytera’s IP Site Connect was really the only option.”

Using a digital transmission standard instead of analogue, Riedel was able to double the amount of channels in the same spectrum, as well as adding a layer of security to the communications. The IP Site Connect feature of the Hytera radios also allows for connection into bigger, city-wide transmission systems, allowing users to roam between an event site and a wider area – perfect for runners or transport units.

SITE-WIDE RADIO

SHORT NOTICE

Riedel further provided a site-wide digital radio solution for the BCEC and other stakeholders with a new fleet of Hytera. Installed in two sites,

Bosch conference and security systems were the primary communication tools used for the summit, and Congress Rental was selected to

supply technical equipment in 15 separate rooms across the three venues including conference microphones, high powered radiations, transmitters, headphones, receivers and cameras.

“The greatest challenge for this event was that we only got confirmation of being the successful tenderer six weeks prior to the event,” Congress Rental managing director Jeremy Ducklin said.

The supplier is part of the Congress Rental network of companies, however, allowing access to additional equipment from Singapore, Austria, Slovenia, South Africa, Greece and Switzerland at very short notice.

OPEN TO INTERPRETATION

BCEC hosted the majority of the meetings across the two days. For the Leaders Plenary, 34 Bosch wired conference microphones were used, with interpretation support staff using 32-channel digital infra-red receivers, which enabled them to simultaneously interpret the speaker’s language. The conference mics provided leaders

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Above: Host broadcaster's control room.

Above right: Part of Congress Rental's DCN wired conference system.

with the interpretation support, made possible through the built-in channel selectors.

Five HD Conference Dome cameras were mounted in the roof trussing system to provide a close up view of all leaders for the interpreters and senior delegates, as well as a wide shot screening the entire conference room. The queuing system feature allowed the Prime Minister to see a list of leaders wishing to speak, and select the leader in the order of his preference.

A finance ministers’ meeting was held in a separate room from the Leaders Plenary at the BCEC and required 34 wired conference microphones and three HD Conference Domes.

Seamless integration allowed the cameras to automatically capture the person speaking at the ‘live’ microphone and project them onto surrounding screens.

Other key events included the summit opening meeting at Parliament House, a leaders’ lunch meeting at BCEC, and a formal dinner at the Queensland Art Gallery. Bosch Integrus wireless distribution systems were deployed across all three locations and included high power radiators, 32-channel infra-red receivers and transmitters. The Bosch Integrus Radiator system was essential in providing 16 channels for the wireless Dual Discussion mics and ensuring the conference venue was covered with powerful, uniform IR-radiation.

“The event went exceptionally well,” Ducklin said. “In terms of reliability, Bosch is the best available, that’s why we’re such big fans. 90 per cent of our stock is Bosch. For the G20, of course, nothing went wrong.”  RIEDEL EQUIPMENT 3 × Artist MFR-64 mainframes 10 × RCP-1012E Rack control panels 6 × RCP-1028E Rack control panels 10 × RCP-1112 Rack control panels 8 × DCP-1016E Desktop control panels 12 × C3 Digital wired belt packs 30 × Artist panel headsets 200 × DMR Hytera radios 100 × Covert earpieces 6 × Hytera DMR / analogue repeaters 2 × Leaky coax runs 1.1 km Opticon Quad fibre 14 × Rocknet mic line input 6 × Rocknet mic line output 25 × Mediornet modular frames 14 × Mediornet Compacts All sourced from Australian rental stock

BOSCH EQUIPMENT 21 × Bosch VCD-811-ICT HD Conference Domes 241 × Bosch DCN-DISCS-D wired conference microphones 150 × Bosch DCN-WD-D wireless conference microphones 64 × Bosch LBB4512/00 High Power radiators 28 × Bosch INT-TX32 32 channel transmitters 1600 × Bosch LBB4540/32 32 channel receivers and headphones CONTACTS Bosch Communications Systems: www.boschcommunications.com.au Congress Rental Network: www.congressrental.com.au NEP: www.globaltv.com.au Riedel Communications: www.riedel.net

FEATURE

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TUTORIAL

Panel Discussion An introduction to LCD and micromirror projector technologies Text:/ Stephen Dawson

Since it first burst upon us decades ago, digital projection has been a major focus of excitement and continuing technological innovation, most recently in the area of high-output, long-lived light sources. But something that has changed only evolutionarily in recent years is the mechanism by which the image is produced: the actual panels that switch the individual pixels on and off.

The good news is that these are, generally, gradually getting better. The bad news is that much important information about these technologies is not well known, so let’s set about remedying that.

PANELS

All modern projectors use panels to generate the image. Each panel has a grid of pixels (picture elements) which are individually switched on or off or partway in-between under the control of the picture processing electronics. A dark pixel stops that particular colour going to the screen for that frame on that pixel. A light one lets the colour go through to the screen.

How many pixels you need depends on your application. The norm these days for bread and butter presentation work is HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), with a dizzying array of aspect ratios and sizes, generally topping out at Ultra HD 4k (3820 x 2160) or Real 4k (4096 x 2160). In general, the more pixels, the more you pay. The choice of the type of panels in your projector is harder.

PANEL TECHNOLOGIES

There are essentially three types of projector panel: LCD, LCoS or reflective LCD, and DMD. There are subtle differences between LCoS and reflective LCD, but they are similar enough to lump together here. In all three cases each panel is typically under 20mm in size, measured diagonally corner-to-corner.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display): is the longeststanding and most common. The light is directed through an LCD panel whose pixels are switched between nearly transparent (bright) and nearly opaque (dark) to generate the image. For colour, three LCD panels are used – one each for the red, green and blue components of the image.

DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device): is the type of panel appearing in DLP – Digital Light Processor – projectors. They still strike me as almost unbelievable that they work at all, given how they operate. A member of MEMS (MicroElectro-Mechanical Systems) family, they are arrays of minute aluminium mirrors – more than two million of them in the case of full HD. Each mirror is hinged at one end and can be swung by about 10° to 12° under the control of tiny electrostatic electrodes. Each micro-mirror is a single pixel that either reflects the light on a path towards the lens (bright), or into a lightabsorbing dump (dark).

LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon): is reflective like DMD, but is still liquid crystal based. Instead of light passing through each pixel the liquid crystal matrix sits above a reflective layer, and by changing states, either allows light to be reflected or not. Reflected light goes through the lens, and thus creates the image. LCoS is known as DiLA (JVC) or SXRD (Sony). Epson has recently released a not-dissimilar reflective LCD projector.

LCoS is most common in home theatre applications where its relatively high cost is bearable and excellent black levels most useful.

We’ll stick with LCD and DMD as these are the main game for business, education and presentation projectors.

THREE PANELS OR ONE?

With three colours it would seem obvious that any projector would need three panels. That is

Anatomy of a single-chip DLP system: Light comes through the colour wheel and onto the DMD panel (red arrow).

If the DMD pixel is ON the light is reflected through the lens to form part of the image (yellow arrow).

If the DMD pixel is OFF the light is reflected into a light absorbing element inside the projector (blue arrow).

Rinse and repeat for every pixel in each colour segment of the wheel.

universally true for LCD, but relatively rare for DMD. DMD technology was originally developed by Texas Instruments and is protected by a thicket of five hundred patents. Some of these should be starting to expire around now (the main ones were taken out in 1995) but any manufacturer that wants to start making their own will probably need nearly as many patent attorneys as engineers to work their way carefully through the legal maze.

Meanwhile, with a monopoly on DMDs, TI has been able to keep unit prices higher than would be expected in a competitive market. So the majority of DLP projectors (DMD is the panel, DLP is the projector) use just one DMD. There is no technical reason why there cannot be three-DMD projectors, and indeed many high end models do just that. There would be technical challenges in developing single chip LCD projectors, largely to do with the latency of LCD chemistry, but in any case, stiff competition amongst manufacturers has stopped that from ever happening.

So how do you get three colours from one DMD chip? Sequentially. The chip does service for all three colours, one after the other. That’s possible because those little mirrors can flip to and fro extremely quickly. An LCD pixel typically takes four to eight milliseconds to flip from grey though white or black to grey. The mirror on a DMD can comfortably go from on through off

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TUTORIAL

Top: LCOS panel. Middle: LCD panel. Bottom: DMD panel.

Below: Electron micrograph of some mirrors on a DMD panel.

somewhat of a virtue by the introduction of ‘BrilliantColor’. This adds cyan, magenta and yellow segments to the colour wheel to allow more subtle colour handling.

PANEL PROS & CONS

to on again dozens of times per millisecond, and does. Since the mirror is either on or off, inbetween levels are achieved by having it switched on for the proportion of the time required for the relevant brightness level.

A rotating colour wheel is used to set the colour of the light for the chip. This is controlled and synchronised by the electronics so that the correct pixels are switched at the appropriate time for their colours.

Originally the colours used were the primaries, red, green and blue, sometimes with white to give a brightness boost. In recent years the single chip limitation has been turned into

Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages. Let’s compare them.

Sharpness: some claim that LCD projectors are sharper than DLP. There’s no good reason for that. If the three panels in an LCD aren’t in perfect alignment, it can be the other way. If a sharp image is important, forget about LCD vs DLP and just buy the highest resolution you can afford.

Contrast: this doesn’t matter anywhere near as much as you think. High contrast ratios are achieved by managing to create deep blacks, which is important in a dark theatre. But even a modest level of ambient light in a dimmed room will wash out the blacks of both types of projector. Far more important is high brightness to compete with the ambient light.

Colour Accuracy: particularly in the home theatre field, grandiose claims are made about how many colours a projector support. In fact, most reasonable projectors provide plenty of colours within the available gamut (range). The gamut is less than the human can manage, but that is as much a limitation of the RGB colour schemes and sources in use as it is of the projectors. Most projectors produce fairly accurate colours right out of the box, and have plenty of adjustments for those want highly accurate colours.

Screen Door Effect: refers to the visible grid lines between the pixels, and are similar for both technologies (somewhat better for LCos) and are largely dependent upon the display resolution.

More pixels mean less screen door.

Low Level Video Noise: this is an artefact confined to DLP. Because it creates grey scales and colour by dithering – flashing pixels on and off – at low levels a certain amount of random noise can be visible in the picture when viewed closely. This will generally not be apparent in many situations due to ambient light.

Rainbow Effect: another DLP-only phenomenon, this is the appearance of a short burst of colour in the viewer’s field of vision. It’s due to colours being produced sequentially rather than at the same time.

Higher end DLP projectors use faster spinning colour wheels, allowing the colours to be more rapidly interleaved with other colours, reducing this effect. Projectors should be assessed for this because some viewers find the effect very irritating.

Colour Halos: most likely seen on three-panel LCD projectors, and is a result of mis-registration between the panels, so that thin red or green or blue edges are seen on one side or above or below black or white lines. This is really a manufacturing defect rather than an inevitable drawback of the

technology, although it’s familiar to those of us brought up on CRT monitors and tube cameras.

3D: clearly not relevant for most purposes, but natively DLP does a much better job in avoiding crosstalk or ghosting, however some better LCD projectors use a crosstalk cancellation system that produces results nearly as good.

Economy: all else being equal (ie. brightness of output), LCD tends to be more electrically efficient than DLP. With LCD the white light is split into three colours and all three are used at the same time. With DLP only one colour is used at a time, while the rest is absorbed by the filter. That said, the price of replacement lamps contribute a comparable overall cost to the projector.

LONGEVITY

How long does each last?

The honest answer is: who knows?

Texas Instruments conducted tests on its own DMDs, showing that they’re good for at least 100,000 hours of operation. That’s 11 years of continuous operation. But spend any time on AV forums and you’ll find people complaining about black and white dots on their DLP projector screens after a couple of thousand hours.

Texas Instruments also helpfully – quite altruistically, I’m sure – performed tests on LCDs some years ago, and concluded that they’d be subject to discoloration in just a few thousand hours. On those same AV forums, plenty of people report similar uneven discolourations with fewer than 10,000 hours of operation (that’s six years at four hours a day).

However, those reports – and the TI tests – were with projectors using organic LCD panels (ie. with carbon-based chemistry). Many LCD projectors (generally at the higher end) now use non-organic LCD panels which are believed to offer greater immunity to degradation.

Let’s be clear: the interior of a projector is not a friendly environment. It is extremely hot, and heat is not the friend of any semiconductor.

What isn’t yet clear is the impact of semiconductor LED, laser and phosphor light sources instead of discharge lamps. While the generally-lower heat impact on the projector is an efficiency bonus, it’s still not clear how well the colourimetry of LCD panels will survive for the 50,000 hours a light source can keep punching through it.

For LCD, it would be wise to expect to write off the projector after three or four years of prolonged or frequent use, which should accord with tax rules anyway. However, if you’re planning an always-on installation, then regardless of the underlying technology, choose a product specifically designed for that purpose.

Trying to skimp with an inexpensive projector will likely lead to disappointment. 

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REVIEW

Sennheiser ew D1 Wireless System Text:/ Christopher Holder

By now we should all know the (cordless) drill: UHF rules the wireless roost. Mission-critical applications use it and it’s the best sounding chunk of electromagnetic spectrum to be in.

But there is another way: using the ISM (Industrial, Scientific & Medical) chunk of the 2.4GHz band. But there are pros and cons… actually, there are mostly cons.

2.4GHz is the crazy-busy piece of spectrum inhabited by wi-fi, Bluetooth, garage door openers and the rest.

To successfully operate in this band you have to have robust error correction and frequencyhopping measures in place to get a solid signal, resulting in some extra latency on top of the digital conversion.

As 2.4GHz is a much shorter wavelength than UHF it's more directional and less penetrating.

Which can be an issue if you’re not in clear line of sight.

Systems in this band normally accommodate no more than 12 channels in one setup (although the ew D1 promises a theoretical 15). Which can be limiting.

All of which doesn’t sound great.

So what’s an ISM band system got going for it? Normally they’re cheap; really easy to set up; being digital, there’s no compansion; and you can use it anywhere around the world without stepping on any UHF wireless spectrum toes.

Sabine was the first to explore the space back in the ’90s. Then Line6 was the next most notable innovator (I’ve had experience with the Line6 product for a few years and was quite satisfied with the performance). More recently, Sony, Audio-Technica, and Shure have released wireless

24-BIT COMPRESSION? You can think of a 2.4GHz wireless system as somewhat like a smartphone talking to a wi-fi router.

It’s digital. Your mic is sending the ‘router’ a stream of FM-modulated 1s and 0s within the 2.4-2.4835GHz band. It’s an electro-magnetic radiation peasouper out there with every piece of gear in the room is hopping around to meet up with their own wi-fi router – so your system is constantly switching frequencies and hoping to find clear air.

It’s a digital system, so audio entering your mic goes through a conversion stage right after it hits the diaphragm. The D1 audio is being sampled at 24-bit/48kHz. That’s a lot of 1s and 0s pouring out of your transmitter every second into the ‘wi-fi receiver’.

If you were doing some equivalent data work on your smartphone, quite likely you might occasionally experience some lagginess with that kind of digital deluge. In the world of audio performance, ‘lagginess’, is unworkable. You simply can’t have a system that occasionally needs to ‘catch up’ — you’d experience drop outs and glitching.

In the case of the ew D1, Sennheiser has chosen to license the apt-x compression algorithm to vastly reduce the amount of data it has to deal with

product using the 2.4GHz band. Now, it’s Sennheiser’s turn with the Evolution Wireless D1.

Up to this point, all the manufacturers have put their 2.4GHz products in the ‘entry level’ category.

Presumably it’s by way of recognition that if rocksolid performance, super-low latency and great sound quality is important to you, then you’re better off spending more on a quality UHF system.

What’s interesting about ew D1 is the price and features don’t amount to an apology for

every second. Like any kind of super-smart data compression, the idea is to excise the data ‘you don’t need/hear anyway’. Which means if you’re standing silently on a quiet stage with the mic on, you’re not needlessly sending 1.152Mbps of silence through the ether to your receiver – the apt-x codec bins most of the ‘junk’ data before transmitting it, because nothing much is happening.

The apt-x codec isn’t new. One of the first to recognise the benefits of apt-x in pro audio and broadcast was none other than Solid State Logic in the ’90s. In 2010 the technology found its way into the hands of CSR of all companies (yes, CSR of cane sugar and Gyprock fame). It’s marketed as offering a superior data compression quality, which is why purveyors of broadcast gear such as Harris, Digigram and others, have all licensed it.

Still trying to get your head around encoding the audio with 24-bit accuracy then instantly hacking at it with data compression? Well, you’re still getting the extra bits where it matters, in resolving musical content.

Plus you’re getting the sort of extended dynamic range (135dBA) an analogue wireless system could only dream of.

working in the 2.4GHz band. Finally, here is a system that’s proudly non-UHF. ONE FOR THE ROAD

That said, the price (approximately AUD$1100 per channel) is still in the lower-to-mid end of the market, but does put it up against some very worthy UHF competition. So what’s the new ew D1 bringing to the table?

D1 is presented as a musician’s or travelling AV

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REVIEW

IPAD APP By the time you read this there’s likely to be free Android/iOS apps available for the ew D1 (keep an eye on the AV APAC website for the link). Plug in a router via the receiver’s RJ45 connector and Bob should be your uncle. The app, we’re told, will reflect the functionality of the receiver’s GUI. Potentially very handy for a one-man operation.

tech’s system, with wireless kits arriving in plastic hard cases. The case is very sturdy and allows you to neatly pack away your transmitter, receiver, universal power supply and leads. It does mean the handheld mic, for example, comes without a pouch (you put it back in the case after use).

So the emphasis is on ease of use and transportability, rather than permanent installation – there’s no obvious means of ganging receivers together and rackmounting them, and there’s no encouragement to buy ew D1 separate components.

I think you’re starting to get a picture here of who Sennheiser is pitching the D1 to: performers, small-scale rental jobs, AV presentation techs… anyone that needs only one or two channels.

Emphasising the set ’n’ forget suitability of the

D1 there’s some neat DSP on-board: de-essing, auto gain control and EQ (all especially handy if you’re plugging into a basic house mixer). The audio features are all accessed via a very clear and bright OLED display with an easy-to-use dial ’n’ press pushbutton arrangement. What’s more, all the features and the setup procedure is laid out very succinctly on a cheat sheet A3 poster and an even more succinct A5 card — there’s no instruction manual as such.

although if you’re working with talent using inear monitoring you may want to think carefully about a lower-latency alternative.

This is a good system with plenty of features.

To reiterate, it’s not intended as a four-, eightchannel or more system; rather, it’s a high quality, go-anywhere, one- or two-channel setup that won’t let you down. And in that regard I’ve no hesitation in recommending it. 

FLYING CONFIDENTLY SOLO

There’s nothing entry level about the build quality of the D1. The handheld microphone feels great – solid and well balanced, with on/ off and mute switches all reassuringly positive to control. Ditto the beltpack. It’s compact and with its steel construction feels bulletproof.

Traditionally, I’m a Shure wireless person, so I was keen to spend some time with the Sennheiser mic. I had the cardioid 835 capsule version for review and there was plenty of gain before feedback, lots of zing and life, and a proximity effect you could really work to your advantage.

Talent I worked with were all complimentary.

The level of handling noise is perfectly acceptable.

The 3.9ms latency is also perfectly acceptable –

MORE INFO Price: Instrument set AU$999 835 Vocal set AU$1099 845 Vocal set AU$1179 HeadMic set AU$1179 Presentation set AU$1099 Contact: Sennheiser +61 (0)2 9910 6700 sales@sennheiser.com.au www.sennheiser.com

044

REVIEW

ARX Audibox Blue DI Text:/ Christopher Holder

BYOD has a very specific, collaborative, meaning in AV circles, but there’s another meaning, and anyone involved in AV presentation will know the hassle of people bringing their own devices. Often, minutes before a presentation, awards ceremony, or religious service, someone looking harried will approach you brandishing something from their pocket or bag. What’s it going to be today? Is it a USB stick? Is it an iPod? It it a smartphone? Is it a notebook computer?

“I’ve got a song/Powerpoint/movie/photos on my [insert device name here]. Can I leave that with you?”

When it comes to audio, for some time the iPod looked like it would be the dominant device. In fact, many of us were tempted to buy ‘pro’ docking stations. But as is Apple’s wont, it changed sync connections. But the point remained: how can we professionally present audio from devices in a quick and easy manner without resorting to the 3.5mm minijack headphone output of the device?

Maybe the first question should be: what’s wrong with the minijack headphone output?

Well, if it’s a recent Apple product, not much at all. Anthony Garvin, Studio Manager of Studios 301 in Sydney, conducted some informal frequency sweep tests for (sister magazine) AudioTechnology last year and was astonished to find the internal headphone DAC of his 2013-vintage Apple MacBook Pro performed remarkably well, with less than 0.2dB of variation between 20Hz and 20kHz (@ 16-bit/44.1kHz), and a -82.5dB noise floor. He repeated the tests on a recent iPhone and iPad and came up with very similar results.

Admittedly, that’s Apple products and we don’t have comparable tests for Samsung or HTC devices. But it makes for interesting reading nonetheless, and the implication is clear: there’s potentially nothing wrong with the minijack output from the device… at least sonically.

GETTING (UN)CONNECTED

So really the issue is the connector – minijacks are a pain and, because they’re ‘mini’, can be unreliable, and are obviously not a longterm connection solution. A minijack lead will normally have RCAs at the other end which are another connector minefield. And often they’ll have unbalanced jack adapters attached to those because your mixing console doesn’t have RCA inputs. Another problem. Or worse, you have them plugged into XLR adapters, which are just asking to lose connection with the RCA at the slightest provocation.

ARX has added the Blue DI to its Audibox range of hardware problem solvers. The premise is fiendishly simple yet clever: pair your device with the Blue DI and it will take the streamed audio and send it on to your mixer via mic-level balanced XLR outputs. This means you can pair any Bluetooth device thrown at you – laptops, smartphones, tablets, and certain MP3 players such as the iPod Touch – just so long as they’re within range (~12 metres).

Anyone who’s paired Bluetooth devices will know just what a trivial exercise this is. I had the Blue DI passing audio in moments.

The DI is active and stereo. As such it needs 48V phantom power available on both cables. There’s a 12V input as backup, but no battery compartment.

Once you’ve paired your device this precludes any other nearby device hijacking the connection.

Saying that, if you don’t have a device connected,

beware of the snotty-nosed kid with a device in the back row doing his best to stream deathcore noise through your PA. The Blue DI happily talks Bluetooth v2.1 EDR, 3.0 and 4.0 but not early versions.

QUALITY VERSUS CONVENIENCE

At the heart of Bluetooth audio streaming is the ‘advanced audio distribution profile’ (A2DP) which defines how multimedia audio can be streamed. The profile includes mandatory support for the low-complexity SBC codec; optionally supports a bunch of MPEG flavours (it can, in theory, stream MPEG audio straight from your device to the receiver unit without additional compression); and is capable of support for manufacturer-defined codecs, such as apt-X (which is making its presence felt in consumer land).

This means that if your music is 16-bit/44.1kHz the Bluetooth encoder on your phone will compress it using the SBC codec to send it down the low-bandwidth Bluetooth pipe.

If your music is already compressed then you’re going to have your audio compressed twice.

So when you ask, how good is the audio quality? The answer is: depends. It’s as good as the data compression(s).

The other answer is: it’s good enough.

The Blue DI is about convenience more than about being the last word in quality – if that’s your concern there are other ways to skin the cat.

REVIEW

045

Is this your copy of AV? If you’d like to receive your own copy of AV or if you’d like to continue to receive AV

But if you’ve got a guest laptop plugged into a projector and you need the audio output for the PA, then you’ll be glad you’ve got the Blue DI in your box of tricks. If you’ve got a speaker with an iPhone who wants to stream music during his/her presentation, well, now you can do that without running any leads to the lectern. They’re only two examples, and you’re already thinking of a bunch more while reading this. And that’s what ARX Audibox is about, it’s a range of wellpriced, well-constructed boxes that will save your skin at some point.

The only request I’d have for ARX is a ‘sum mono’ button, so I could get what I need from the Blue DI from one channel. Otherwise it’s just the type of box we’ve come to expect for the Australian manufacturer: tough, no nonsense, and innovative enough to wonder why no one else is doing something similar. 

MORE INFO Price: AU$325 Contact: Total Resource Corp: (03) 9874 5988 or sales@trc.com.au trc.com.au or arx.com.au

Register now!

HERE’S HOW: LOG ONTO WWW.AVAPAC.NET CLICK THE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON FILL IN YOUR DETAILS AV MAGAZINE IS SENT FREE OF CHARGE TO AUDIOVISUAL INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS. IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE TAKEN OFF THE MAILING LIST PLEASE EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS@AVAPAC.NET

046

REVIEW

Chauvet Professional’s Rogue family A look at this growing family of low-budget high-feature moving lights Text:/ Marcus Pugh

Everyone in the lighting game now have many options on where they can spend their moving light dollars, and competition means that everyone is getting more bang for their buck. All the lighting manufacturers are bringing more value and features to the market while keeping an eye on the price point. Much of these changes are driven by the manufacturing boom in China and it isn’t so much about how many different moving lights to sell under your brand but creating a range that suits their customer base.

One company that has really stepped up their game of recent times is Chauvet having grown a strong following in the states for quality club and DJ type fixtures. Chauvet has released its Chauvet Professional line which looks to supply lighting designers in television, production, touring, theatre, clubs, hospitality, houses of worship and architainment. Under this banner comes the new Rogue series tagged with the epithet: ‘Weapons of mass creation, liberating imaginations from the tyranny of tight budgets’. The Rogue series consists of seven fixtures, two sizes of Spot, two sizes of beam fixtures, two new wash units and the Rogue RH1 hybrid which is the ‘big boy’ of the range. I had the opportunity to review The Spot R1 and R2 as well as the Beam R2.

I have demo’d a lot of ‘budget’ fixtures recently and was sceptical about that I might be in for more-of-the-same when three of the Rogue range arrived on my doorstep. My scepticism started to dissipate from just opening the first box and seeing the obvious build quality, I had to check

the buy price twice Show Tools International (the Australian distributor of the Rogue range) because it just seemed too low.

One of the first things you notice for all units in the Rogue range is the rugged rubberised finish on the outer casings. This finish gives the units a matt finish and the covers have a bit of ‘give’ in them helping to prevent cracking from minor knocks and bumps. I have witnessed some Rogue Spot R1s that have spent 6 months in a busy rental shop showing very little evidence of scratches from the rigors of gig-life. The bases have a largish footprint and Chauvet hasn’t opted for the smaller bases which some manufacturers have moved toward recently. The larger footprint means that components inside the base are laid out with ample space between allowing plenty of air movement for heat management without the need for larger, noisier fans. All three units I reviewed had the same sized base (even the small R1 Spot) but this means the hang brackets are uniformly positioned for all three.

Under the head covers the LED engines in the spots have large heat sinks teamed with fan cooling. The internals are well laid out in all three units with removable modules for servicing.

Some thought and engineering has gone into the cable loom runs to minimise snagging on moving parts. Internal cable connectors are nonproprietary so replacing these could be done at most all electronic stores if parts were hard to come by out on the road.

Another feature that often gets overlooked for

moving light is the handles which is not the case with the Rogue range every unit has good sturdy handles that bolt directly to the main base sheet of metal and would stand up to even the meanest treatment from the roughest loader.

Creating a budget minded fixture comes down to compromises and some have been made for the Rogue units. One such compromises is the control panel and interface, the buttons are small and fiddly which you’d struggle with in gloves or trying to change addresses while hanging out of a truss. The control interface isn’t intuitive but is still workable and as with any fixture I’d imagine practise would make it easier to navigate. The pan and tilt motors aren’t the quietest or fastest on the market and some of the internal cable looms could be more robust but none of these things are a deal breaker. The important thing is the output, optics and features all of which you get a lot of for your money.

All units have Neutrik powerCON connectors inputs and outputs, 3- and 5-pin XLR ins and outs. Overall the selection of standard gobos are good and each fixture has some that will work well as a mid-air effect through haze and some projected onto a surface, there wasn’t any that I thought to myself ‘ I’d never use that’. I was surprised to see no stand-alone ‘sound to light’ or ‘master slave’ mode but this shows that Chauvet are serious about the Rogue Range being the real-deal mover not another set and forget fixture party light. 

047

REVIEW

ROGUE R1 SPOT • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Specs 140W white LED engine 8500K colour temp.

16 or 19 DMX channels.

540°/250° pan & tilt with automatic correction.

8 colours + white ability to do split colours and continuous scroll at variable speeds.

7 rotating indexing gobos, 5 metal and 2 glass, all interchangeable.

8 fixed metal gobos, all interchangeable.

3 facet prism, rotating motorised.

Electronic dimmer and strobing Strobe 0 to 22Hz Motorised focus.

Motorised iris.

16.5° beam angle 2619 lux at 5m Dimensions 282 x 360 x 447mm 16.5kg 220W running current 1A @ 230V

Pros • Quiet • Handy gobo access window for easy gobo changing on the rotating gobo wheel.

• Snap-n-lock gobo system for tool less gobo changes on the rotating wheel.

• Robust build quality.

• Very bright for a small mover.

• You can get a sharp focus over a good variety of throw distances.

• Less heat and fans means longer service cycles • • • • •

Cons Beam angle is a bit tight for short throws.

No zoom Large foot print for a small mover No motorised strobe No pan or tilt locks Summary Value for money it is hard to go past this unit, it has some features you would only expect to see in more expensive movers. The white LED is super ‘white’ at 8500K which is right up the blue end of white and makes the fixture appear brighter than similar wattage LEDs with lower colour temperatures. The colour selection while not subtle does suit the target market for this fixture. The Spot R1 would be great for medium sized clubs, small touring rigs or theatres. This would be the perfect mover for a high school theatre as a teaching light. I was I’d had this level of tech at this price available to me when I was coming up.

Price AU$2200 (inc GST) [This is not a misprint.]

ROGUE R2 SPOT • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Specs 240W white LED 8500 K colour temp.

18 or 21 DMX channels 540°/270° pan and tilt with automatic correction 2 colour wheels each with 7 colours plus white with ability to do split colours and continuous scroll at variable speeds.

7 rotating indexing gobos, 5 metal and 2 glass, all interchangeable.

8 fixed metal gobos all interchangeable.

3 facet prism, rotating motorised.

Electronic dimmer and strobing Strobe 0 to 22Hz Motorised frost Motorised focus.

Motorised iris.

16.5° beam angle Pan and tilt locks 5500 lux @ 5m 21.2kg 409 x 343 x 349mm 301W running current 1.4A Pros Robust build quality.

Quiet The 240W LED has loads of output Handy gobo access window for easy gobo changing on the rotating wheel slot-n-lock gobo system on the rotating wheel for tool-less gobo changes Combination frost and prism allows the unit to cover some wash functionality.

Easy gobo morphing.

Less heat and fans means longer service cycles

Cons • No Zoom • Beam angle is a bit tight for short throws.

• No motorised strobe.

Summary The Spot R2 has heaps of output for a LED based fixture, you can load up both colour wheels and morph between gobo wheels and still get beams through the air. The gobo morphing works well with both gobo wheels positioned next to each other in the beam path through the head. This unit would work well in large clubs or medium theatres if you got the throw distance right. In a retail environment projecting custom gobos while competing with daylight or existing ambient lighting conditions. The Spot R2 would be perfect with 6 – 12 units hanging or sitting at the rear of stage shooting beams and gobos over the band or doing back light colour bumps between the dual colour wheels.

Price AU$3300 (inc GST)

ROGUE R2 BEAM Specs • 230W Osram Sirius lamp • 15 or 18 DMX channels • 540°/270° pan & tilt with automatic correction • 14 colours with continuous scrolling at variable speeds • 17 fixed gobos including 6 aperture reducers.

• 8 faceted motorised rotating prism.

• Motorised dimmer • Motorised focus • Motorised frost.

• Motorised strobe • 1° beam angle (2° field angle) • 133,200 lux 15m • 7500K colour temp.

• 20.6 kg • 409 x 327 x 474mm dimensions.

• 385W running current 1.7A Pros • 8 faceted prism allows for mid-air beam shaping • Aperture reducers produce a pencil thin beam • Easy servicing.

• Fast strobing • Motorised dimmer allows for ‘pulse’ style strobing Cons • No rotating gobos • Gobos not interchangeable • Not as fast as some more expensive beam fixtures.

• Have to remove the fan to change lamps.

Summary The Beam R2 does exactly what the name promises and that is punch out a mighty bright beam. The feature set may be somewhat limited but you don’t want too much in the beam path compromising the output for this style of fixture. Output-wise you could put this next to much more expensive beam fixtures and struggle to pick the difference in the beam. The pan and tilt movement is smooth and fast even if it doesn’t have the top end speed of some other units on the market.

The colour wheel can be spun continuously at ridiculous speeds that play tricks on your eyes. The Beam R2 would work well in medium to large rock venues or clubs also as a cost effect beam effect in theatre shows. I could even see the Beam R2 on medium sized rock and EDM tours.

Price AU$3600 (inc GST)

CONTACTS www.showtools.com.au sales@showtools.com.au +61 (0)2 9824 2382 www.chauvetlighting.com/chauvetrogue/index.php

048

NEWS

Industry Update AV Association News

AETM

AV CALENDAR

Audiovisual and Educational Technology Management Inc.

AETM: THE NEW FUTURE

INFOCOMM ABUZZ IN ASIA AND OCEANIA

AETM embraces some major and progressive changes.

You may have heard about some of them on the grapevine, so it’s now time to introduce ourselves as the new AETM. AETM is a professional association that represents audiovisual and educational technology managers and specialists in the Asia Pacific region. For 14 years AETM was known as the Association for Educational Technology Managers, promoting professional standards of practice in the fields of audiovisual, educational, communication and collaboration technologies.

In late 2013 we relaxed our exclusive focus on the tertiary education sector, widening our membership criteria to embrace all organisations using AV and educational technology such as galleries, hospitals, TAFEs, courts and museums, and have become the Audiovisual and Education Technology Management Inc.

InfoComm recently held several very successful events across the region. In March, InfoComm International held a member development and networking day in Manila, Philippines.

In February, attendees met in Chennai, India, for an InfoComm Roundtable, and then in Bangalore for the first Networked AV Systems class of 2015. Then it was onto Mumbai for another free Roundtable.

We are glad you are part of the InfoComm community and we hope to see you at an event or classroom training class soon.

WHAT’S CHANGED • We have a new logo.

• We've become an Incorporated Association.

• We have a new name.

And to bring it all together, we’re excited to invite you to visit our new website. The same www.aetm.org remains the place to find out all you need to know about AETM and more importantly our recommended AV Design Guidelines (free to download, of course).

Thanks to InfoComm for their ongoing support, True Agency (trueagency.com.au) for our wonderful new website, and of course our friends at AV Asia Pacific magazine for assisting the AETM in so many ways.

Thanks folks!

AETM

DON’T MISS OUR UPCOMING NETWORKING EVENTS These events are primarily social gatherings for the AV industry. Bring along your entire team to catch up with colleagues and make new business connections. We will feature a short presentation and discussion followed by a networking reception.

Perth – 15 April, 3-6 p.m.

Please register at oceania@infocomm.org.

New Delhi – 20 May Please register at india@infocomm.org INFOCOMM UNIVERSITY Together with AMX, InfoComm University is coming to a city near you for the Networking for the AV Industry Programme – featuring Networking Technology Online and Networked AV Systems.

This three-day course is designed to help end networking challenges and keep your skill-set up to date as more AV applications operate within enterprise IP networks.

You will gain an in-depth understanding of AV and IT concepts including: • The capabilities and limitations of remote monitoring and management • How to discover your customer's security concerns for the AV system • The differences between emerging technologies in streaming and conferencing • Identifying trade-offs between quality and bandwidth Don’t miss our classes in Perth – 27-29 May and Sydney – 2-4 June.

For information or to register contact oceania@ infocomm.org.

CTS-I EXAM GUIDE RELEASED Looking for an installation reference manual?

If you excel at learning from books, the just-published CTS-I Exam Guide from InfoComm International and McGraw-Hill Education is a complete study resource.

But it’s more than a study guide – use it as a valuable installation reference manual. Visit your favorite online bookseller to order.

NAB Las Vegas, April 11-16 www.nabshow.com PROLIGHT + SOUND Frankfurt, April 15-18 pls.messefrankfurt.com MUSIKMESSE Frankfurt, April 15-18 musik.messefrankfurt.com CEBIT Sydney, May 5-7 www.cebit.com.au SPARC Sydney, May 27-29 sparcevent.org INFOCOMM 15 Orlando, June 13-19 www.infocommshow.org SMPTE Sydney, July 14-17 smpte.com.au INTEGRATE Melbourne, August 25-27 www.integrate-expo.com INFOCOMM INDIA 2015 Mumbai, September 21-23 www.infocomm-india.com AETM CONFERENCE Melbourne, November 9-12 www.aetm.org/conferences TRAINING InfoComm’s Networked AV Systems (in conjunction with AMX) May 27-29 – Melbourne June 2-4 – Sydney July 1-3 – Perth July 6-8 – Gold Coast

049

TUTORIAL

Room Factors

The importance of understanding your client’s requirements.

The following is an excerpt from InfoComm’s Design Online class. These topics will be covered in greater detail, with added project-based skills practice, during InfoComm’s AV Design School in Melbourne and Sydney during 2015.

For enquiries or to enrol contact Jason York at oceania@infocomm.org NEEDS OF A ROOM

So many different types of clients utilise audiovisual equipment for widely varying purposes that it is sometimes difficult to think of their needs as being similar. There are some basic and essential ‘needs’ which users have in common.

Although it may sound basic, discovering these needs is an important aspect of the design process, as the needs define the system requirements.

Four factors should be taken into consideration when evaluating the needs of a room: • Clients' requirements: Rooms should be designed to focus on the clients' needs, not the systems. Designers should not design systems until they have collected all the facts and understand the needs.

• Effective communications: People need to see and hear to effectively communicate information. The purpose of AV systems is to support and enhance this communication.

• Clients' processes: Designers should learn the end users' processes, and the AV system should be part of them. Each client has a unique culture, a different approach.

• Client awareness: The end user or client does not always understand what they want. Sometimes the client has never experienced what is normal to the designer. Often the designer must educate the client so they are aware of the capabilities, technology, and techniques of AV systems.

TECHNICAL FUNCTIONS OF A ROOM

All AV-enabled rooms have the primary function of assisting in the communication of an idea or information. This concept of function should be at the centre of all design decisions. All other design characteristics, such as air conditioning, lighting, windows, etc, should be integrated so they augment the room’s function. A typical room layout can be broken down into the following areas: AUDIENCE AREA

• Visuals: Can everyone see the presenter and images? Consider screen size, image resolution, task requirements, sight lines, etc.

• Sound: Can everyone hear the presentation?

Consider acoustics, and determine the appropriate configuration of microphones and loudspeakers.

• Ease of movement: Can everyone enter and exit

with ease? A properly designed seating layout is essential.

• Audience comfort: Will people be comfortable in their seats? Ensure there is sufficient space between seats and in the aisles based on the desired seating layout.

PRESENTER AREA

• Workstation: Is the lectern/bench well laid out for the presentation needs identified by the client?

• Presenter and equipment: Is there enough room for the presenter and their equipment, such as computers and notes? Keep in mind that the presenter may want freedom to move around.

• Power/voice/data: Are there adequate power, data, and computer connections?

• Sightlines: Can the audience see both the presenter and the images? If the presenter is too close to the screen, lighting on the presenter may need to be dimmed to prevent interference with projected images, making it difficult to see the presenter. Or the presenter may be positioned too far from the image(s) for the audience to view both at the same time.

• Versatility: Does the client want the lectern to be removable, or does the location of the presenter area change for different uses?

spaces have an impact on the success of the AV enabled rooms.

BUILDING SUPPORT SYSTEMS

While not directly the responsibility of the AV designer, the design of these areas can affect the success of the room.

• Breakout Rooms: Is the number, location, size and layout compatible with the intended use of the room?

• Break areas and lounges: Is the location and layout compatible with the intended use of the room? Can the audience be informed when breaks are over?

• Food and beverage service: Is the location and layout compatible with intended use of the room? It should be at the rear of, or outside, the room.

• Toilets: Are they conveniently located and adequate in number for the anticipated audience size?

• Reception: Is it properly designed and located to direct persons to the presentation room?

• Phones/wi-fi: Is there access to communications to support the uses of the room?

• Kitchen/vending: Is the location convenient, with adequate facilities for the needs of participants?

CONTROL AND/OR PROJECTION AREA

OVERALL DESIGN SCHEME

• Equipment space: Is there enough space for projection equipment and AV operators?

Operators may be required to support the presentation's technical needs for long periods, in which case the room should be designed to provide an adequate level of comfort.

• Heating and cooling: Can the heat generated by the AV equipment be removed from the room?

Co-ordinate the requirements with the architect and mechanical systems designer to ensure adequate ventilation.

• Power/voice/data: Is there sufficient power for the equipment? Are there adequate voice, data and computer connections?

• Task lighting: Appropriate illumination for operators to work, but not spilling onto images or into the audience area.

• Sound isolation: Control of noise, eg. cooling fans, and operator communications so it doesn’t distract the audience.

• Sound monitoring: Operators must be able to see and hear what is going on during the presentation. Sound mixing requires a large opening between spaces.

Ultimately, this is the responsibility of the architect. Understanding how the design scheme will affect the success of your room design will help you determine the types of issues and questions that you should address during the programming phase.

• Big picture: Know how other spaces in the facility are intended to be used to ensure your room is compatible with other rooms.

• Form follows function: The more the architect fully understands the function of your room, the more closely the overall room design can address the specific functions the owner needs in the room.

• Interior finishes: While the interior designer is responsible for the colour and texture of finishes, the AV designer should brief them on issues affecting acoustics and displayed images or captured video. For example, strong visual patterns, or very strongly contrasting surfaces behind people in a videoconference should be avoided. 

FUNCTIONS OF ASSOCIATED SPACES

Associated spaces support the room, the participants, and other activities in the building.

The design and relative locations of associated

050

HUMOUR?

Termination A Point of View on POV Text:/ Graeme Hague

Okay, some of you may not believe that Peoplekind (this is a politically correct publication, after all) ever landed on the moon, despite photographs last year from a NASA telescope showing the Apollo 17 moon buggy’s doughnuts still clearly visible on the surface. Also, you’re convinced Elvis is really alive at the ripe old age of 80 and that the FBI in partnership with the CIA assassinated John F Kennedy, because the American military decided the US government had one too many three-letter acronyms.

MOON BOOT-UP

For those of you who do accept the moon landings, it should interest you that as far as AV, live television and remote camera control is concerned, one of the simplest, yet trickiest challenges NASA faced was broadcasting the take-off of the lunar modules at the end of the missions (well, the moon bit) without expecting one of the astronauts to press ‘Record’ on a tripod-mounted GoPro and scamper into his seat before the batteries ran out.

Only the last three missions, Apollo 15, 16 and 17 were filmed leaving the moon using a remote controlled camera on the discarded moon rovers, operated from Earth — you don’t get more remote than that. Because of the signal delay between the moon and NASA, the operator pushed the ‘Pan Up’ button a full six seconds prior to the launch — using a stopwatch. The same guy did all three and only the last attempt worked, so if you see footage of a lunar module blasting off from the moon, guaranteed it’s Apollo 17. You gotta love old-school, seat-of-the-pants filming. Sorry, some of you may need to Google ‘stopwatch’.

Side-tracking slightly for a moment [and what do you call the story thus far?! – Ed.], a watershed

moment in space exploration and landing on the moon was the realisation we needed a rocket to reach the lunar surface, but we only had to bring the astronauts back (not the entire rocket) resulting in the innovative shedding of rocket ‘stages’. But who was the guy that suggested broadcasting those stages being blown off? That iconic footage of the burning bits dropping back to Earth? Someone in the PR department for sure (“It’ll make great TV for the next 50 years!”)

And who was the poor AV technician tasked with figuring out how to do it and bring back the camera in one piece? How exactly do you gaffa a camera to the side of a rocket? Did he get an Emmy? A BAFTA? A pay-rise?

Don’t forget the Box Brownie technology they were dealing with, even more making these seriously impressive AV achievements. Ones that we take for granted now.

ON LOCATION… LITERALLY

In the 21st century things are getting a bit silly when it comes to dreaming up innovative camera locations. That’s commercial applications I’m talking about, not just the myriad GoPro cowboys who think videoing their daily commute should garner the same haul of Oscar nominations as Ben Hur. I reckon the Stump Cam in cricket ranks as the most pointless vision in sport. A better idea would be to paint the stumps a different colour and focus the camera on the adjacent stump – so viewers could watch the paint dry in real-time.

Much more exciting. (Cricket lovers please send outraged comments directly to the editor, a bona fide cricket aficionado). Attaching cameras to the hats of almost any sportsperson or the umpires

is just as annoying, if not a perfect trigger for motion sickness. You might as well put the camera in a blender. I say ‘almost’ because there are exceptions, usually extreme sports. Like people who jump out of planes with a carefullyfolded bed sheet tied to their shoulders.

The challenge for AV entrepreneurs in 2015 is to place a camera somewhere unique, challenging and exciting, not just different. Maybe somewhere really, really dangerous such as the dashboard of any car driving in Russia – that qualifies. Forget dodging large trucks driven by vodka-crazed Cossacks, the meteorites are a bastard.

We probably need to set some rules, like: no drones. Drones are so last year. Besides, it’s getting so we have to swat drones down like flies buzzing around our heads while we go about our everyday business, because somebody in the US has actually received an FAA permit for their “let’s deliver stuff by drone” idea. Been there, done that – crashed on the White House lawn like the rest of ‘em (maybe next time Prez Obama will get his pizza delivered more conventionally). The place must look like a ceiling-fan wrecker’s yard.

No sports that include wheels, balls, pucks or shuttlecocks. It doesn’t leave much, but we did say put a camera somewhere unique, right? But all right, you can use gaffa.

You’ve got miniaturisation and wi-fi on your side. And battery technology that can last a gazillion hours. NASA only had a bunch of Hitler’s left-over V2 tech and a stopwatch for the Apollo program. Surely we can come up with something better than ho-hum, grainy footage of some blokes blasting off from the moon? 

IT meet IT IT meet AA--TA-T meet Introducing Network Microphones

Introducing Network Microphones Introducing Network with Direct Dante ProtocolMicrophones ™ ™ withwith Direct Dante Protocol Direct Dante Protocol ™

5 5

YEAR YEAR WARRANTY WARRANTY

AUDIO AND CONTROL DATA AT THE START OF THE SIGNAL PATH. AUDIO ANDAND CONTROL AT THE OF THE SIGNAL PATH. Operating over aCONTROL simple DATA Ethernet connection, newSIGNAL Network Microphones AUDIO DATA AT START THEAudio-Technica’s START OF THE PATH. put you in control. The integrated, Operating over aover simple Ethernet connection, Network Microphones put you inyou control.

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Each mic also comes equipped with a Red/Green LED to keep you informed of local mute status and and other processes.

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And, ofbest course, youget stillthe getclear, the clear, articulate you expect fromSo A-T. So itplug it in,introduce and introduce network to its new audio-technica.com network to itsbest newfriend. best friend. audio-technica.com

Dante is a trademark of Audinate Pty Ltd. Dante™ is a trademark of Audinate Pty Ltd. ™ Dante is a trademark of Audinate Pty Ltd. ™

Get the WOW Factor with NEC

NEC launches large format entry level commercial display panels to further enhance their comprehensive range.

NEC Large E Series Display Panels are feature-rich, with superior visual quality, ideal for boardrooms, education and digital signage applications.

E705, E805, E905 are 70, 80 and 90 inch respectively, with 23mm bezel width Full metal chassis, commercial grade panel with thermostatic temperature control Programmable ambient light sensor, full scheduler feature Optional OPS slot for PCs, HDBaseT receiver NaviSet 2.0 Admin Asset Management Tool 3 year warranty RRP starts from $6600 Large stocked range of Chief mounting solutions also available from IDT For the latest promotions news and product information, contact our telephone support team

1300 666 099

Or visit www.idt.com.au to find out more.

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