AV Issue 28

Top Yacht

issue #28 $6.95

Liquid Automation’s Maritime Masterpiece Top End AV: Defence of Darwin Experience Watch & Learn: Big Brother Comms Sales Drive: Suburu Launch 360° Projection New Breed: Midas Pro1 & Yamaha CL Series Reviews

Jands Welcome a New Brand to its Audio Visual line.

Aurora Multimedia uses state-of-the-art technologies to define the cutting edge. Since the introduction of its IP-based control systems and touch panels, Aurora Multimedia has become a dominant force in the control system market, providing solutions for a variety of global markets including government, education, security, hospitality, corporate and residential.

Introducing

DXE-CAT-S2L™ HDBaseT CAT Extender with Integrated Control System

You extend it, we control it!

Features •

Transmit HDMI up to 1080p 60Hz 48bit 330ft over one CAT 5e/6/7 cable

•

Built-in control system for triggering RS-232 or IR commands on either the TX or RX side

•

Integrated web server for hosting custom web control interfaces - control from any device with a we browser ( iPad, Android, PC, etc. )

•

Ethernet pass-through with 2-port switch on TX and RX side

•

POE powered via Flex-Power™ technology ( Patents Pending )

Made in the USA

For all product enquiries, demos or quotes, please contact us: jands.com.au

info@jands.com.au

Interface Creation Software Available!

HDCP-Compliant Scaler with Seamless Switching

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Extron DVS 605 The Extron DVS 605 is a high performance, HDCP-compliant video scaler that includes three HDMI and two universal analog video inputs, and simultaneous HDMI and analog high resolution outputs. Create professional quality AV presentations with true seamless switching and flexible picture-in-picture capability. The DVS 605 streamlines system integration and operation with Auto Input Format Detection and ultra-fast source switching with continuous EDID management and HDCP authentication. With advanced Extron 30-bit video processing to deliver optimized scaling quality, the DVS 605 is ideal as the integration centerpiece for incorporating digital and analog AV sources.

Key Features: • Integrates HDMI, RGB, HDTV, and video sources into presentation systems • Three HDMI inputs and two universal analog video inputs • SpeedSwitch™ Technology provides exceptional switching speed for HDCP-encrypted content • Auto Input Format Detection and auto-switching between inputs • Key Minder® continuously authenticates HDCP-compliant devices for quick and reliable switching • EDID Minder® automatically manages EDID communication, ensuring that all sources reliably output content to the display • Enhance AV presentations with true seamless switching and advanced PIP - picture-in-picture • Simultaneous outputs for HDMI and analog RGB or HD component video • Flexible system control options including RS-232, Ethernet, USB, contact closure, and front panel controls

Australian Distributor of Extron Products

Free Call 1800.EXTRON

DVS 605 A & DVS 605 AD audio features: Adjustable input gain and attenuation HDMI audio embedding and de-embedding Selectable audio delay Audio breakaway HDMI Audio Embedding

Any audio input

May be sent to the HDMI output to accompany the video

HDMI Audio De-Embedding

Audio accompanying any HDMI input

May be sent to the analog or digital audio output

www.extron.com

+65.6383.4400

‘NOW YOU CAN COMPARE APPLES WITH APPLES’

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A single rack unit: High power output and superb audio performance: Armonia Pro Audio SuiteTM software.

Technology and design made in Italy.

Technology and design made in Powersoft. 速

www.powersoft-audio.com Production Audio Video Technology Pty. Ltd P. (03) 9264 8000 info@productionaudio.com.au www.productionaudio.com.au Production Audio Services (New Zealand) P. +64 (0) 9272 8041 sales@productionaudio.com.nz www.productionaudio.com.nz

06

Editorial Smart enough to survive?

There’s no doubt that the future of the audiovisual industry is inextricably linked with the increasingly-powerful processing power that’s being embedded into everything from our shoes to our toothbrushes, from our fridges to our lawn mowers and from our electricity meters and battery chargers to our oscilloscopes and time domain reflectometers. We’re certainly being advised that the AV industry should get on the ‘smart building’ wagon/gravy train and ride off into the sunset. While I’m not suggesting for a moment that this isn’t the right thing to do, I’m nevertheless concerned about our willingness to ascribe intelligence to anything with enough capacity to do more than store its previous power status.

We saw this phenomenon years ago when some very basic logic arrays, and later microcontrollers, were incorporated into motorised stage lights to allow them to move from one preset position to another without direct analogue servo control. Although the term ‘intelligent lights’ was widely used to describe this technology, most of us trying to use them in production would have been wildly happy if they had turned out to be obedient – never mind intelligent. Today’s generations of fixtures, despite having orders of magnitude more processing power than their forebears, are more accurately identified by the term ‘moving lights’.

At last the intelligence in the lighting process is

acknowledged as coming from the creative and technical brains of the production team, not the increasingly sophisticated and increasingly more obedient, but ultimately mindless equipment.

What concerns me about the idea of ‘smart buildings’ is that the public (and perhaps, more importantly, the architects, owners and managers of these buildings) will fail to understand or acknowledge that these buildings are merely tightly-monitored and controlled and that all the smart stuff comes from the clever systems architects, programmers, engineers, installers and operators. Merely having enough sensors to detect that Level 3 North is five degrees warmer than Eastern Sub-Basement 2, or that the daylight levels in the main foyer are currently sufficient to clobber the output of the signage displays doesn’t produce energy savings, nor does it prolong the working life of the plant. Having the people who are smart enough to take advantage of that temperature difference and route the air handling appropriately, or to balance between increasing the brightness of the displays and adjusting the louvres in the lightwells, is smart. As the astronomer Cliff Stoll has been attributed as saying: “Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom.”

A great example of intelligence versus the ‘obvious’ technical solution is the story in this issue of the production team for the recent Big

Brother, so-called ‘reality’ television series. They are required to provide relentless coverage of the goings-on in the Big Brother house – all day and all night, in multiple rooms, across multiple story and character lines for three months. The obvious thing to do with the technology available today is place lots and lots of cameras, giving total and overlapping coverage of the spaces, then record the output of every camera. This material could then be edited and assembled to provide the very best possible, no-detail-missed, coverage of the shenanigans in the House. Except that isn’t what they did. Instead they exploited their immense experience in producing live television to come at it from a different angle entirely.

What the AV industry brings to the world is a great deal of knowledge of how things work and interact and how to create seamless and often invisible solutions to problems that many of our clients and most of our end-users don’t even realise exist. This is the face we need to show to the community – our clients and the rest of the world who aren’t our clients yet. Perhaps it’s time to borrow a page from the InfoComm playbook in the US by promoting what we do to the entire community through an ‘AV Week’ campaign or something similar. What are your thoughts on this idea? Let me know.  Andy Ciddor, Editor: andy@av.net.au

we are family

VISIT US AT STAND XX

be a part of our family over 60 products across 13 series of projectors, panels and touch screens

pro.sony.com.au

Crew 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.

Advertising Office: (02) 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086

Editorial Office: (03) 5331 4949 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353

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

Graeme Hague worked for the last 20 years in regional theatre venues as an audio, lighting and AV technician.

Graeme is a regular contributor to AudioTechnology 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: Dominic Carey (dominic@alchemedia.com.au) Graphic Design: Leigh Ericksen (leigh@alchemedia.com.au) Associate Editor: Jen Temm (jen@av.net.au) News Editor: Graeme Hague (news@av.net.au) Accounts: Jaedd Asthana (jaedd@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Manager: Mim Mulcahy (subscriptions@av.net.au)

alchemedia publishing pty ltd (ABN: 34 074 431 628) PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 info@alchemedia.com.au All material in this magazine is copyright Š 2012 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. 15/11/12

Paul is a freelance lighting designer based in Sydney.

Struggling to find work in his homeland, Paul spends much of the year in far flung places in perpetual search for the perfect breakfast and good coffee.

With a love of lights, gadgets and a good story, Paul makes an admirable effort to bring to AV reviews of products and events from around our small and wondrous globe.

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Issue 28 REGULARS NEWS AV industry news.

14

INFOCOMM ASSOCATION NEWS News and important dates for the Oceania region.

62

TERMINATION Why Fi?

66 FEATURES

26

HITTING THE HEIGHTS WITH VERTIGO AVIA award-winning Kiwi super yacht.

26

BIG BROTHER IS LISTENING Comms for the (tediously) long run.

34

NOT YOUR ORDINARY CAR LAUNCH Taking the whole audience out for a spin.

38

THE MUSEUM THAT BOMBS The Defence of Darwin exhibition does anything but bomb.

42

VUEPIX – BATTLE OF THE BRANDS What could be more Australian than our very own brand of Chinesemanufactured LED panel.

46

TUTORIALS

34

42

ROLES IN AN AV ORGANISATION Knowing who does what in AV.

65

REVIEWS YAMAHA CL SERIES Digital audio system.

50

MIDAS PRO 1 Small format digital console.

54

MARTIN AUDIO MLA COMPACT Medium format line array.

58

38

46

54

50

MEDIORNET COMPACT 50G Real-Time Media Network

• Synchronized 50G real-time network for 3G/HD/SD-SDI video, audio, data & intercom at the price of multiplexing point-to-point fiber products • Flexible signal routing incl. point-to-multipoint • Integrated Frame Store Synchronizer, Embedder/De-Embedder, Test Pattern Generator, On-Screen Display & Timecode Insertion at every port • Fully compatible with Artist, RockNet and modular MediorNet systems australia@riedel.net

www.riedel.net

Call 96 123 2 ur 3 3 4 o 0 -up y to set on-site free o. dem

Living Large

Our most popular range of Commercial LED*BLU LCD displays with exceptional performance and new large sizes

“Out of the Box” Digital Signage Solution The MagicInfo Lite scheduler/ player (included in the displays) allows for simple scheduling and delivery of your important content without the need of complex digital signage systems.

Use the 2.8gb of free internal memory to store your content and schedule content via remote control.

The new Samsung ME75B 75 inch LED*BLU display

Optional Touch Capability with the new TM series Touch Overlays^ Turn your new Samsung ME-B Series displays into Interactive Touch screens with the new range of optional Samsung TM series touch module overlays.

The touch module overlays for ME32B, ME40B, ME46B, ME55B and ME75B displays are six-touch1 infrared technology and simply clip into position on the display using clips provided on the overlays.

The ME65B Display 65-inch model incorporates a two-touch1 optical technology overlay, which is installed using screws provided.

Samsung LED BLU displays utilise LCD screens with LED edge or back lights.

Samsung Touch Overlays are sold separately. ^ Six-touch and two-touch infrared technology capabilities are dependent on compatible application software.

(stand sold separately)

Upgrades from the Samsung ME-A series • New lower glare screen surfaces • Increased brightness across the range of sizes • Built-in Magic Info Lite Scheduler with increased memory (2.8gb available onboard) • New sizes in the range: 65 & 75-inch

*

1

www.samsunglfd.com it.sales@samsung.com

014

NEWS

POLYCOM ANNOUNCES A CRACKER

NEW A-TEAM IS A-LINE

SOME G & E FROM CHRISTIE

Calling it the biggest product launch in its 22-year history, Polycom has announced breakthrough solutions designed to transform the industry, accelerate mass adoption of video collaboration and fuel new growth opportunities for the company in both existing and new markets. Polycom unveiled Polycom RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite, an extension to the Polycom RealPresence Platform, which lets customers extend enterprise-grade video collaboration to users of Skype, Facebook, Google Talk and other business video applications via a browser, for B2B and B2C video conferencing with the highest quality, reliability and security. The announcements are the culmination of more than two years of R&D. Enhancements to the platform include support for the industry’s first implementation of open standards-based Scalable Video Coding (SVC) technology. This delivers 3X HD multipoint capacity for greater scalability and lower TCO, higher quality video performance across devices and improved compatibility. The significant boost in capacity is important with growing trends such as BYOD (bring your own device). The SVC support is available through software updates to the appropriate components of the RealPresence Platform.

Polycom: 1800 355355 or www.polycom.com.au

Dynacord’s new A-Line family offers three active and three passive models, comprising one 300mm and one 380mm two-way full-range systems and a 460mm subwoofer, in both active and passive versions. The active models (designated A 112A, A 115A and A 118A) use a 500W Class-D digital power amplifier and signal processing including FIR filters in the A 112A and A 115A. These can either be pole-mounted or stacked on top of the A 118A subwoofer, which has 400W power with a master volume control, a phase-reverse switch and an XLR / RTS combination input. Because of their asymmetric footprints, both the A 112A and A 115A models can also be used as active stage monitors with a monitor angle of 60° A switch is provided to select between EQ presets for monitoring and standard applications, and an additional switch activates a highpass filter when operated with an active subwoofer.

Both microphone and line-level inputs on combo XLR and RCA sockets are provided for a wide range of connection options. The passive models (A 112, A115 & A118) are recommended for use with Dynacord’s Powermate series of powered consoles.

Bosch Communication Systems: (02) 9683 4572 or www.boschcommunications.com.au

Christie has announced a new G Series and four E Series 1-chip DLP projectors. In the new G Series, the Christie DHD550-G and Christie DWU550-G provide 5000 lumens, 1-chip DLP technology and a single mercurylamp design for fixed applications. The E Series are suited for both fixed and rental staging applications.

The G Series outputs a choice between HD (1920 x 1080) and WUXGA (1920 x 1200) resolutions. There is an optional wireless connectivity, a suite of lenses and input options that include HDMI, DVI and display port. The Dynamic Contrast feature boosts contrast ratios up to 5000:1, and there’s Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture functionality. Multi-projector installations can be achieved with colour matching as well as an optional dual processing warp card that enables blending and warping. The new Christie E Series models are built on 1-chip DLP technology and a dual lamp design that provides increased brightness ranging from 6450 to 7200 lumens. A dust-sealed light engine and dual mercury lamps can optimise lamp configurations. Also included is a high brightness sixsegment color wheel (RGBCYW) with an optional rich color wheel (RGBCYM) available. The new projectors are shipping now.

VR Solutions: (07) 3844 9514 or www.vrs.com.au

NEWS IN BRIEF:

Jands has been appointed as the exclusive distributor of Aurora in Australia. Aurora Multimedia develops a diverse range of products and technologies such as advanced audio/video processors with audio delay compensation, scaling, multiimage rotation and dual/quad display processing. The Jands technical team has started to get its hands on the new products and expect to be shipping stock soon. If you have any queries, orders or designs required, Jands can help you now.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

Haivision, a specialist in advanced IP video streaming solutions, announced that it has recognised Image Design Technology (IDT) as its top Asia-Pacific distributor of the year.

IDT is Haivision’s distributor for Australia and New Zealand and has exceeded US $1 million in revenue growth within the past 12 months, supplying Haivision products for IP video solutions through IDT’s network of resellers and systems integrators.

Image Design Technology: 1300 666 099 sales@idt.com.au

In the aftermath of Music Link hanging up its boots a lot of leading manufacturers have been left in limbo, looking for representation here. Jands is very happy to have snapped up the role as the exclusive distributor of Gator Cases in Australia (Gator… snapped… get it? Never mind).

Gator Cases presents itself as an ideal partner for Jands, and expects to be supplying cases into the Australian market almost by the time you’re reading this.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

The board of directors of InfoComm International, the trade association representing the commercial audiovisual industry, announced David Labuskes, CTS, RCDD, will become the next executive director/CEO of InfoComm International, effective January 1. He succeeds Randal Lemke, PhD, who retires at the end of the year. Labuskes has served as vice president of RTKL, now a division of ARCADIS and a highly-respected architectural and engineering firm. He is the founder of the company’s Technology Design Practice.

Infocomm: www.infocomm.org

Madison Technologies has announced it has entered an exclusive distribution agreement with US manufacturer Avenview to deliver its full range of integration, extension, distribution and conversion technologies to the Australian market. The Avenview product suite includes audio and visual extenders, audio video converters, video switches, video processors and video splitters as well as cables and adapters.

Madison Technologies: 1800 669999 or www.madisontech.com.au

DMS700 V2 The first professional true digital wireless system

SYMETRIX RADIUS 12x8 Symetrix has announced the Radius 12x8, a Dantenetworkable, fixed I/O, open-architecture digital signal processor for expanding the SymNet platform.

Radius may be installed as a standalone processor or used in conjunction with SymNet Edge or third-party Dante network-enabled devices to achieve scalability and flexibility, and meet the specifications of either simple or complex installations. The Radius 12x8 is an installed sound DSP designed to make use of what’s seen as the industry’s most common input/output form factors – meaning the 12x8 configuration. It also includes ARC-WEB, which is browser-based user-control technology compatible with Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. The Radius 12x8 is Symetrix’s second Dante-enabled product release to date.

Production Audio Video Technology: (03) 6264 8000 or info@productionaudio.com.au

The DMS700 V2 is a revolutionary digital wireless solution designed for the future

Vision Design, the specialist architectural division of WSP, is rebranding and expanding and will be now known as WSP Vision Design. Established more than 20 years ago, WSP Vision Design provides cost-effective lighting solutions with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Bangkok and Singapore, and plans to expand the team in the near future.

WSP Vision Design: (02) 8907 0900 or www.wspgroup.com.au

Professional Audio Technology has delivered two large DIS (Danish Interpretation System) systems to Integrated Media for installation at Adelaide City Council. Adelaide-based Integrated Media installed one DIS system for the council chamber consisting of a CU6005 central controller unit, a DC6990P chairman unit with touch screen controls and 18 delegate conferencing units, plus two hand held microphones for speakers in the public gallery. A second virtually identical DIS system was installed into the council’s committee room.

Professional Audio Technology: (02) 94761272 or sales@proaudiotechnology.com.au

• Up to 150MHz tuning range – widest in class, gives maximum flexibility to accommodate Digital Dividend changes • 24bit/44.1kHz audio sampling • 512 bit signal encryption for secure audio transmission • 2-channel digital true-diversity receiver • High performance external antenna distribution systems available • On-board DSP per channel (Compressor, EQ, Limiter) • Quick setup via infrared data link to the transmitter • Graphical spectrum analyser helps find clear channels • No Compander (used in analogue systems): higher sound quality

For more information Call 1300 13 44 00 or visit www.audioproducts.com.au

016

NEWS

WOMEN IN AV AWARD

TWO INTO ONE BY GEFEN

FULL HD MOON

Malissa Dillman, Kramer Electronic’s Training and Education Manager, has shared the 2012 InfoComm International Women in AV Award with Zee Hakimoglu, CEO and Chairman of the Board of ClearOne. This prestigious award acknowledges the important contributions of female InfoComm members who not only are achieving rewarding and successful careers in the AV industry but have also achieved excellence in the AV field.

Dillman received the award in recognition of her extraordinary contributions, noteworthy leadership, and dedication to promoting the audiovisual and information communications industries. In her capacity as an educator for Kramer since joining the company in May 2011, Dillman prepared approximately 300 people to take their InfoComm CTS exam and trained more than 600 AV professionals. She also conceived and successfully executed Kramer’s ‘Designing in a Digital Age Road Show’ program, creating regional opportunities for industry members to spend a full day earning InfoComm CTS renewal units while receiving essential industry technology training. Dillman has more than 12 years of extensive AV experience.

InfoComm International: www.infocomm.org

Gefen has simplified a cabling solution previously requiring two cat5 cables into a setup needing just one with its new Gefen HD KVM ELR (Extra Long Range) extender. Sender and receiver units send 1080p full HD with 3DTV pass-through and USB from the source to the display using the same cat5 cable, effective at distances up to 100m. The HD KVM ELR extends laptops, Blu-rays and any device using HDMI to a flat panel display or projector equipped with HDMI. The receiver unit supports the connection of HDMI and three USB devices, ideal for keyboard/mouse, camera, printer or hard drive. The new KVM extender is designed to replace older versions that used two cables to reach the same distance. The HD KVM ELR is ideal for post-production editing suites, where computers are isolated in machine rooms or closets, and hi-def video with keyboard/mouse peripherals extended to the edit room. Locking power supplies on both sender and receiver eliminate potential system interruptions. USB data speeds reach up to 100 Mbps for an instant delivery. A mini USB port is also provided.

Amber Technology: 1800 251367 or www.ambertech.com.au

Flovel Company Japan has introduced its new FZ-B1 high-sensitivity camera, offering high-quality HD color video reproduction that can operate in moonlight.

Designed for government and high-end security applications, the camera will be available worldwide from December 2012. The FZ-B1 has at its core a 2/3inch CMOS 1.3 megapixel colour image sensor. The compact camera records in 1080/59.94i, 1080/50i, 720p/60p and 720/50p formats and has a low-light sensitivity of 0.01 lux, making it ideal for demanding high-resolution applications including nature video production, surveillance, microscopy, policing and traffic control in day or night. To make the camera smaller and less obtrusive, it’s also possible to just use the sensor module without the camera housing. The FZ-B1 works with any C Mount lens.

Magna Systems & Engineering: (02) 9417 1111 or www.magnasys.tv

NEWS IN BRIEF:

Vision has announced an adaptor that fits the TM-1200 projector ceiling mount and allows flatpanel LCD screens to be ceiling mounted. The adaptor fits VESA 75 and 100 screens and includes extension arms that allow it to fit any VESA format up to 400 x 400.

A collar is provided for heavier screens up to 20kg that allows the tilt angle to be locked off.

Integration Supplies: 0408 570 950 or ian@isupplies.com.au

The Australian Securities Exchange has simplified and enhanced the way it broadcasts stock information to subscribed traders, replacing an aging analogue infrastructure with a new digital announcement system using Barix IP audio products.

The upgrade allows ASX Group, the overarching brand responsible for a diverse range of Australian business market service activities, to record and deliver stock announcements to more traders with better efficiency. ASX Group has been gradually transitioning its audio delivery infrastructure to an IP streaming solution.

Lan 1: (02) 9318 4200 or www.lan1.com.au

Aurora’s new Waci Pads consist of programmable LCD button pads where the button image and assigned macro can change with each press. Buttons can be programmed via a ‘drag and drop’ environment to display custom bitmap images with text, as well as choice of background colour, while executing events and macros for controlling conference rooms or AV equipment. With enough memory for up to 100 pages of buttons, the Waci Pad can emulate any touch panel project within a single-gang sixbutton wall mount or two-gang 12-button mount.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@ jands.com.au

Barco has released a warp box for its 4K virtual reality projector line. The MCM-400, a new external warping, blending and color matching device for the Galaxy 4K projectors, opens a range of new opportunities for virtual reality systems including use in a multi-channel setup to allow very high resolution displays with a limited number of projectors.

Barco: (03) 9646 5833 or sales. au@barco.com

Behringer is shipping its Eurolive B115D and B115MP3 active two-way loudspeakers.

The new systems feature an integrated dual-channel mixer with two-band EQ, built-in sound processor and 1000W of class-D bi-amplification. The enclosure design allows them to be pole-mounted, stacked, or placed horizontally for floor monitor wedge applications. A dedicated USB 3.0-style input provides seamless integration with Behringer’s new upcoming Ultralink Series wireless microphones.

Galactic Music: (08) 9204 7555 or www.galacticmusic.com.au

DONE WITH A DOME Bosch Communications Systems is enhancing its DCN Next Generation and DCN Wireless conference systems with full HD automatic camera control. The new HD solution includes a purpose-designed HD Conference Dome camera with HD-SDI output. Small, compact and requiring no fan for cooling, the camera is quiet and unobtrusive. Dedicated interfacing software developed

by Bosch fully integrates the HD camera into the DCN Conference System. Automatic camera control provides a visual dimension to meetings that not only helps to focus the attention of participants on the topic under discussion, but also shows them who is speaking. A PTZ camera automatically pans to the current speaker and displays their image and name on monitors or projection screens where needed. The camera is automatically activated by the microphone button on the delegate’s conference unit. Formerly, the integration of HD cameras into conference management systems required special interfacing software. This new solution provides an ‘offthe-shelf’ solution for HD conferencing needs.

Bosch Communication Systems: (02) 9683 4572 or www.boschcommunications.com.au

Audica MICROseries - Style and Flexibility Audica Professional combines leading-edge design and acoustic engineering in flexible audio solutions for commercial background music, corporate AV and audio communications.

The new coolux Widget Designer 4.0 received the Best Debuting Product award in the projection category at this year’s LDI show in Las Vegas. One of the features of this interactive application builder software is a built-in web server. Using the Widget Designer it is now possible to create and control all show control interfaces from any remote HTML browsing device. An unlimited number of devices can be controlled.

Show Technology: (02) 9748 1122 or www.showtech.com.au

BrightSign’s new XD products are solidstate players that offer video and other multimedia capabilities that, if previously possible at all, were only possible with PC-based solutions. This includes the ability to display Live HDTV broadcast content using an ATSC/Clear QAM tuner or HDMI input. The ATSC tuner is used to play cable TV or closed-circuit TV broadcasts, and the HDMI input is used to play any broadcast content. All models include an advanced video decoding engine and support HTML5, so content creators can use familiar development tools to create content.

Image Design Technology (IDT): 1300 666 099 sales@idt.com.au

Applications include retail outlets, restaurants, hotel public areas and guest rooms, meeting rooms, museums and visitor centres.

“I thought the audio industry had already given us every option, until I saw and heard Audica Professional- MICROseries sets new standards for aesthetics and audio quality for background music” Kai Böckmann, Trius GmbH & Co. KG, Germany

Call 1300 13 44 00 or visit www.audioproducts.com.au

018

NEWS

LIVE TRACKING SYSTEM DELIVERS It’s the holy grail for lighting designers and production managers: a product that can automatically track people or objects on stage in real time, quickly and accurately.

Past attempts have been on the right path but, frankly, didn’t live up to the hype.

Enter industry veteran Gilray Densham, president and CEO of Cast Group of Companies. Densham has been chasing a successful solution for many years and says he has finally delivered with BlackTrax, a live tracking system that will accurately track anyone or thing – in fact, up to 3000 of them on one stage.

Basically, BlackTrax is a camera-based package that looks for an infrared LED beacon, so you surround your subject with these cameras and lock onto them. Once the cameras are positioned (and you’ll know exactly where to place them as you’ll be using WYSIWYG which comes with the package), calibration takes approximately 10 minutes.

LITTLE RAY OF LIGHT The infrared LED beacons are active and have a unique signature so cameras can distinguish them from other infrared technologies on stage. They are the size of a wireless mic beltpack and can be placed discreetly on a person, in a set piece or sewn into a costume. If the LED happens to get covered up, the tracking still continues using the accelerometer data.

“In the pack is what we call a triple inertia system that gives you a direction and a movement, taking over until the LED becomes visible again,” Densham explained. “So you have two systems working together – you have the LED system giving you the X, Y, and Z that are picked up by the camera, and then you have the inertial system, wirelessly reporting back.”

The cameras triangulate a position and that information is written into a small server that gathers this information and then shares it with lighting consoles and media servers, and coordinates follow spots. The tracking system can be zone-based so if you walk on stage you can trigger a light to follow, douse out, turn on, and so on.

Unlike the radio frequency-based systems tried in the past, this tracking system responds quickly and accurate to movement on stage, with a response of 240 frames per second at one-centimetre accuracy. “In fact it’s not the speed of our system that can be problem, rather the hardware attached to it,” Densham said. “A 12- to15-metre wide stage would require 12 cameras, and as they circle the subjects you don’t require multiple LEDs to ensure every plane and angle of the subject is covered. You only need two of those cameras to see the LEDs at any one time.”

A SOUND MOVE BlackTrax also speaks directly to spatial audio systems and is connected to the Sonic Emotions 3D Audio processing engine, which opens endless possibilities. At last, the sound can really comes from where it should – not from the speakers, but from the person actually playing an instrument on stage, and follow them as they move.

BlackTrax V1 first won a prestigious Game Changer award at NAB 2012, followed by the only Gold Innovation award at PLASA. At the recent LDI, the Cast Group set up a much-anticipated interactive demonstration of the system that allowed every visitor to experience being tracked in 3D space.

Offering a new degree of creative freedom and control, BlackTrax V1 looks set to change the way professionals work in live productions, broadcast and film. For museums and exhibitions, it allows the public to interact with their environment and media in a way never before possible. 

Using BlackTrax to control a moving light as a followspot.

BlackTrax can be used to dynamically locate the reinforcement at the same point as a performer.

THE TECH BlackTrax (BT) is an Ethernet-based system that tracks objects or people in a defined 3D space and delivers the dynamic positional data in real time, in up to six degrees of freedom – the usual X, Y, Z, plus Roll, Pitch and Yaw – to audio, moving lights, robotic cameras, and media technologies.

Based on the BT beacon, which emits infrared light via a LED that is picked up by BT’s proprietary, custom-designed motion-capture camera system, BT delivers the positional data to a BT server at more than 240 updates per second. Using data from the onboard three-axis gyroscope and three-axis accelerometer, a radio transmitter in the BT beacon streams additional data for Roll, Pitch, and Yaw – as well as redundant 3D information (which is useful if the LED becomes occluded).

Cameras can be located up to 30m away, with 6mm tracking accuracy.

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020

NEWS

CHATSWOOD THINKS BIG Willoughby Council’s Concourse centre gives the affluent burghers of Sydney’s North Shore yet another reason to not renew their Harbour Bridge e-Tags. Why bother schlepping your way to the CBD when you’ve got a world-class concert hall, theatre and library smack dab in the middle of Chatswood (arguably Greater Sydney’s shopping epicentre)?

Add to the list of Concourse attractions, a public plaza with a big LED screen. The D3 screen, supplied and installed by DRM Audio Visual, provides a community focal point for big events such as the Olympics, New Year’s Eve, etc.

Essentially, Willoughby wanted a Federation Square of its own. As it happens, DRM did the work on Fed Square as well and knew the drill.

ROLLING IN THE BIG CRANE Brad Hogan, Managing Director of DRM AV, paints this picture: “We worked closely with AW Edwards (the contracted builders), to ensure the structure was built to properly accommodate the screen. The idea was for the screen to be fitted after Edwards handed the building back to the City of Willoughby.

We fabricated the structure and prefabricated some of the housing. We had to obtain special permits to bring it all in, and if you’ve seen the site you’ll understand why. The screen position is a good 18m above where a crane could be positioned and about 20m away. So it was a complex lift that required a substantial crane (41m, actually).”

Some six hours later DRM was able to wave the crane goodbye and start fitting the LED modules. One of D3’s key selling points is its easy installation and configuration. Once in position, the modules interconnect via standard cat5, and once linked have a nifty self-configuration mode. Or as Brad Hogan puts it: “Stick all the cat5 together, put it into a network switch, hit the Configuration button, and the system sends out a magnetic field off each module which allows each to ID its neighbour – ‘this module next to me is this Mac address, and the one above me is this other Mac address’. Effectively it builds itself.”

BROADCAST CONTROL ROOM The next phase was to run OM3 multimode fibre back to the control room in the bowels of the building, which DRM had fitted out with a full-blown broadcast control facility. The setup allows the screen to display and schedule virtually any form of available content. The control room gives the operator the ability to

view and preview all the input sources and, once selected, an AMX system takes care of all the audio and video switching – digitally, of course; everything is HDMI and DVI-D. A Scala digital signage system is installed, again, working hand in glove with the AMX control system; Brad Hogan: “when a particular player is scheduled, it sends an IP string out for the AMX to pick up and perform the vision switching and the audio switching.”

INTELLIGENT INTELLIGIBILITY A big public screen needs a big public audio system as well, which was supplied

by Technical Audio Group. A lot is expected of the audio. It’s a big area to cover and there’s enough concrete to give an acoustician a heart attack. The harsh reflections not only serve to make speech intelligibility a nightmare but also the risk of annoying local retailers is very high.

A Martin Audio Omniline baby line array was once again selected to solve the problem [see last issue for our story on the Central Station concourse, and Issue 25 on St Mary’s church in North Sydney].

David Gilfillan of Gilfillan Soundwork and ICE Design Australia were commissioned to measure and model the space to ensure the system could be accurately optimised – hitting the audience, while missing the walls, glass balustrades, and surrounding cafes. From there the QSC Q-Sys FIR filtering and the Omniline’s ability to individually address each of the 40 elements with its own amp channel and processing came into their own.

Complementing the two 20-element Omniline arrays is a bass array installed under the elevator shaft (in the screen’s supporting column). The vertical array can be steered downward for added pattern control and is located behind a weatherised guillotine door.

GLOBAL CONNECTION All up, Sydney’s only permanentlyinstalled big public display makes for an impressive crowd puller. But it’s not until you see it in action on occasions such as The Reading Hour 2012 do you get a sense of the possibilities.

With its broadcast quality back-end, impressive D3 LED image and highquality Martin Audio sound system, the Concourse screen can share hookups with Federation Square and the Perth Cultural Centre screen with great results. Clearly, this is far more than a big telly or digital billboard, it’s a suburban touchstone in a digitally connected, yet socially disconnected, world.  — Christopher Holder

DRM AV: (03) 8359 8888 or www.drmav.com.au D3: www.d3led.com Gilfillan Soundwork: (02) 9569 5626 or www.gilfillansoundwork.com.au ICE Design Australia: (02) 9568 4684 or www.icedesign.net.au Technical Audio Group (Martin Audio, QSC): (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au

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NEWS

ESPLANADE’S BLACK & WHITE AUDIO UPGRADE The modernist yet undeniably impressive Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay arts centre presents performers with a veritable smorgasbord venues: the Concert Hall, the Recital Studio, the Theatre Studio, and last but definitely not least, the Theatre. Opulent in its red velour drapery and triple horseshoe balconies, the Theatre may boast one of the largest stages in Singapore yet the design of the room still provides an intimate setting for an audience of nearly 2000.

More recently an audio upgrade given the Theatre a shot in the arm. Robin Shuttleworth, the Technical Manager sound at the Esplanade explains the process. “A phased-in sound system upgrade throughout the Esplanade's venues has been ongoing for the last four years. The last venue to be addressed has been the Theatre; we had the opportunity to explore improvements in the permanent sound reinforcement system to create a first class sounding room for performances ranging through musicals in all their different forms: operetta, juke box musicals and straight musical drama through to playback, light pop and jazz. We invited five prominent audio companies to design and demonstrate their respective systems. After careful evaluation, a d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system proved to be the winner.”

The audio system that won the bid was designed by Ralf Zuleeg, Head of Education and Application Support at the d&b headquarters in Backnang, Germany and installed by Sebastian Song and his team from d&b audiotechnik S.E. Asia, based in Singapore. Zuleeg’s design is based around a Left, Centre, Right configuration of Ci7-TOP loudspeakers supported by Ci-SUBs from the C-Series with various elements from the White range elsewhere, and driven by D6 and D12 d&b audiotechnik amplifiers. Ralf elaborates, “I used a selection of boxes

from the xS-Series: the 12S and 12S-D along with the 10S and 5S. I imagined there would be a small difference in tonality between the two but choosing the White has meant far fewer little loudspeakers with no compromise on coverage, better low mid and lows and a more controlled overall delivery.”

This rather original solution of using both Black and White ranges has certainly got Shuttleworth’s vote. “What we have gained here is an accurate, high quality distributed audio system. It’s common knowledge that I am one of the C7s greatest fans, but the clever fill achieved by the support of the White range loudspeakers, as I walked the room, I was amazed with the sound coverage, not only the excellent audio quality but the perfect focusing throughout the auditorium.”

Zuleeg expands on the venue’s slightly tricky nature. “The Theatre is very tall with three balconies, each one very steep vertically, especially the middle and top ones so there is some shading of the main system. In simple terms, the Ci7s put the energy into the room; the 12S and 12S-D cover the front rows while the 10S and 5S fill in the gaps elsewhere. Generally though, it’s a well behaving room with a reverb of 1.0 to 1.2 seconds that sounds like it can take a lot of energy, so for modern, so-called 'juke box' musicals with their louder emphasis on the rock sound, the system and the room will cope really well.”

Shuttleworth said, “We know the guys from d&b, and together with my team at the Esplanade, they worked hard to get this absolutely right. Of course, there are always discussions along the way like the one about an area of coverage that didn’t seem quite right.

We made a quick call to Sebastian and, no sooner said than done, there were two additional 10S loudspeakers and a D12 provided just for that awkward spot. As passionate professionals we are all proud of the result.” 

d&b audiotechnik: www.dbaudio.com Esplanade: www.esplanade.com

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FEATURE

Hitting the Heights with Vertigo The Kiwi superyacht scoops design awards.

Text: Derek Powell Recipe for Extreme Audiovisual: First, take the world’s most beautiful sailing yacht and pour in a mansion-sized fibre optic digital video and audio entertainment system. Next, whisk in several mission-critical navigation systems and pipe everything into the smallest container possible. Shake and swirl the resulting cocktail constantly in salt water while sending it to the other side of the world. When done, serve to a discriminating audience accustomed to only the best of everything. Oh, and did I mention there are to be no hitches, glitches or faults… ever?

I’m sure most of us would blanch at the thought of quoting on such a daunting set of expectations but for New Zealand integrator Liquid Automation, this is fast becoming its bread and butter [enough with the culinary references! – Ed].

Liquid Automation has won awards previously for work in marine categories but this time the company has walked away with the prestigious 2012 AVIA for Best Government or Commercial Installation over $500,000 – giving well deserved recognition at a completely new level. The project was the super yacht Vertigo built

by New Zealand’s Alloy Yachts International.

We’ll get to the details of the audiovisual gear in a moment, but so you can gain some perspective on the job, here are some facts and figures about the boat. At 67m long and with a beam of 12.3m, Vertigo is comfortably larger than say, Cook’s barque Endeavour which was less than half that length at 32m and only 8.2m across the beam. She is a fully-capable ketch-rigged sailing craft, but also sports a pair of 1400hp Caterpillar C32 diesel engines, giving her a cruising speed of around 12 knots. The interior, designed

by Christian Liaigre, is fitted out for 12 passengers in the kind of walnut and lacquer luxury you’d expect to find in the best sevenstar hostelries of Paris or Monaco. Vertigo herself won Sailing Yacht of the Year along with a string of design awards.

Naturally, audiovisual is ubiquitous in the craft with a full theatre system, individual cabin video and audio systems, and a nightclub style party sound system. But the digital fibre backbone also encompasses all of the boat’s advanced navigation systems including the sophisticated integrated bridge system, which is similar to the glass cockpit found in the latest generation of commercial airliners.

So to get a true handle on the project, I spoke with Sam Ashton, Liquid Automation’s system designer and project manager, and also with his client Eamon O’Connell, electronics design manager for Alloy Yachts.

FIGHT FOR SPACE

Both men were unanimous when I asked them to nominate the greatest challenge for super yacht integrators. “Space!” declared Sam. He explained that for famous interior designers, AV equipment was well down the priority list. “We really do get whatever space is left and we fight tooth and nail to get what we can.” Sam admitted to learning a few tricks over the years for creative positioning of racks. “...And with that comes heat,” he continued, noting that air

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BEST IN SHOW Following its AVIA award win, Liquid Automation won further recognition on the world stage with the 2012 Global CEDIA gold medal for Best Technical Design for a Special Project. Additional awards for Vertigo include: 2012 winner International Superyacht Society Award: Best Sailing Yacht over 40m Monaco Yacht Show: Prix du Design Award 2012 winner World Superyacht Awards: Sailing Yacht of the Year; Best Sailing Yacht 40m and over 2012 winner – ShowBoats Design Awards for Exterior Design and Styling; Interior Layout; Recreational Space Designed for Guest Use

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FEATURE

handlers and over-temperature alarms were a must to allow equipment to operate in cramped quarters. From the boat builder’s perspective, Eamon backed him up.

“Space is number one,” he said, adding that because an audiovisual installation was in virtually every compartment, it was crucial for the boat builders to get accurate equipment housing and cabling requirements from the audiovisual designers early in the planning process.

“The next biggest challenge is figuring out what the customer actually wants,” Eamon said, noting that sometimes owners weren’t sure what they wanted.

“But this particular client was well aware of what he wanted the system to do,” he continued. “The quality of the audio was probably more important to him than the quality of the video, so we had to work quite hard to deliver an audio experience in keeping with the rest of the boat.”

With this in mind, Sam and the Liquid Automation team made sure they lavished special care on every detail of sound quality. The owner’s stateroom features a large screen TV that rises from the floor and swivels so it can be viewed either from the bed or from the couch. To keep the correct stereo image, the DSP system changes to match the rotation of the screen so as the screen pivots, the channels flip between speakers, maintaining the left and right perspective relative to the picture.

ROCK THE BOAT

Meanwhile, the cockpit and after-deck needed to become party central when Vertigo makes port in Ibiza, so its audio system was carefully engineered to take on a variety of roles. Even before the boat was built, EASE plots were done from the 3D drawings of the space. The Liquid Automation team took special care to load the model with the acoustic properties of all the proposed fittings and furnishings, right down to the curtains, to determine optimum speaker locations. To supplement coverage on the open rear deck, JBL powered speakers are stowed in watertight compartments ready to be deployed onto spigots built into the deck.

“At commissioning, we did time alignments and tweaked the frequency response of the room,” Sam said. “Then we added a dynamic EQ so that when the system’s at a low volume, it’s a nice warm, even sound.

But as they really crank it up, at a certain SPL it will change to more of a nightclub sound… On the water, it just sounds fantastic.”

However, don’t imagine for a moment that video has been forgotten. This is where the Crestron Digital Media system comes into its own. The fibre backbone, chosen for its immunity to noise and interference, serves not just the 25 entertainment monitors and the Projectiondesign F12 video projector but also distributes the navigation systems to the bridge, which was a whole new challenge.

Above: Crestron and AMX system components sail happily side-by-side in their luxury timber cabin.

Below: Luxury accommodation for Vertigo’s human passengers. in the yacht’s main saloon

Special Features: Liquid Automation customised Google Earth interface: A 3D model of the yacht follows the position of the vessel in real-time. Using a touch panel, the user can virtually fly from the yacht to the surrounding area.

Navigation instrumentation is relayed on the touch panels so the guest can see current yacht information such as boat speed, wind speed, wind direction, water temperature.

Gear List CONTROL: 11 x AMX processors 9 x Crestron processors 9 x Crestron touch panels 11 x AMX touch panels Crestron PLC interface allows AV/Nav selection and CCTV control from Alloy Yachts’ custom bridge stations.

AUDIOVISUAL SERVERS: 18 x Apple TVs 2 x Mac Pro 12-core servers.

AUDIO: BSS SoundWeb distribution.

Saloon Theatre: Crestron Procise surround sound processor with Lexicon and Crown CTS amps, JBL Synthesis speakers and 2 x 15inch JBL subwoofers in custom designed enclosures.

Cockpit Theatre/Aft deck: 6 x JBL in-ceiling satellite speakers, 15inch JBL subwoofer in custom designed enclosure and removable powered aft deck party speakers with custom DJ inputs.

Owner's Suite: Crestron Procise surround sound processor with Lexicon and Crown CTS amps, 7 x JBL in-ceiling satellite speakers and a 15-inch JBL subwoofer in a custom designed enclosure.

Owner's Ensuite Port: 2 x Proficient 8-inch in-ceiling speakers.

Owner's Ensuite Starboard: 2 x Proficient 8-inch ceiling speakers.

Other Zones: SpeakerCraft speakers with Crestron amps VIDEO: 25 screens (excluding navigation screens) consisting of the following: Projectiondesign F12 1080p projector 26-inch Aquavision flush-mount TVs 55-, 46-, 40-, 32-, 22-inch Samsung TVs 10.2-inch Clarion flip-down screens with built-in DVD player (for all crew cabin bunks) LIGHTING: Lutron control system.

030

On the bridge, sources ranging from GPS to depth sounders, radar, and even a night vision camera mounted high on the mast need to be routed to six widescreen displays running at 1920x1200. The sources, mostly DVI but at varying resolutions, were scaled and then fed into a 16x16 matrix before being linked by fibre to the bridge.

But that’s not all. Using the USB breakaway feature of the Crestron DM system, the controls for each system accompanied the video. So if a GPS display, say, was routed to Monitor One, then a trackball on the dashboard could be associated with that monitor and assigned via the Crestron USB breakaway function to provide control of menu features to operate the GPS base station. Then if the input was changed to display radar, the USB routing would change to give the trackball control of the new system.

The Crestron also allowed RS232 control of each monitor so that at night, all six could be

FEATURE

uniformly dimmed to allow the crew to retain their night vision through the windscreen while still monitoring the instruments.

With such vital systems, nothing was left to chance and Eamon described how the Alloy Yachts team built a full mock-up of the bridge from plywood so that Liquid Automation could test the distribution and control system thoroughly, months before the boat was ready to be fitted out.

HYBRID CONTROL

All through the three-year project, testing and mock-up systems were a vital component in achieving a reliable outcome. Unusually, the control system is a hybrid with AMX touchscreens managing the Crestron back-end.

The owner had seen AMX touchpanels in other yachts and made this part of his specification but at the time, there was no AMX switching and fibre transmission comparable to Digital

The multiple displays that are part of the Integrated Bridge System are selected via a Crestron 16x16 matrix switcher with a USB breakaway for the trackball controls.

the Alloy Yachts team built a full mock-up of the bridge from plywood so that Liquid Automation could test the distribution and control system thoroughly

With dual 8”screens, viewing SD, HD and 2K SDI video on SmartView Duo is twice as beautiful.

SmartView Duo is the perfect compact SDI rack monitoring system for post production, broadcast or live events. It features two beautiful 8” LCD screens which can be remotely adjusted via ethernet. It even includes tally.

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SDI monitoring everywhere you need it SmartView Duo lets you build your own master control room to monitor all cameras for live production. Use it in editing desks to display all your video sources.

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It was designed to meet the needs of both broadcast and post production professionals. On top of this, it supports advanced video formats like 1080p HD and 2K SDI. Mount it anywhere in racks SmartView Duo can be mounted anywhere in equipment racks, even in the extreme top. That’s because SmartView Duo rotates completely upside down for optimum viewing angle.

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FEATURE

AMX panel controlling the Kaleidoscope media server on the aft deck's main screen

Media. During several months of testing, Liquid Automation tried a number of approaches to system programming before settling on their current programming solution. “Since the launch we haven’t had one issue with AMX controlling Crestron. It’s been extremely reliable so we’re very happy with that – and the owner loves it,” Sam said.

RELIABILITY IS EVERYTHING

Although there are countless ways this project embodies excellence, Eamon spelt out his number one priority for electronics: “Reliability is the only thing that we care about really. We’re aware that we have to do tricky things but if we make a system that’s capable of a lot and it only works 95 per cent of the time, then we’ve failed utterly. Every time a guest goes to use it, it must do exactly what they expect it to do.”

By that criterion (as well as many others) Liquid Automation can stand tall as there has yet to be any downtime attributed to the audiovisual and control system. Keeping things that way despite the constant pitching and rolling of the boat requires

constant checking which, thanks to the novel Ihiji IP monitoring system, the team can achieve even half a world away. The Ihiji status screen at Liquid’s Auckland office constantly monitors every device on the Vertigo network and can drill down to check the status of connected devices on Cresnet or RS232, flagging any device that reports a problem.

“One day when we arrived at the office, we noticed that a whole bunch of audio devices had dropped offline,” Sam recalled. Realising that all the affected devices were connected to the same power board, they quickly emailed the boat’s engineer. Half a world away it was late at night, so in the morning the engineer read his mail, checked the power board and re-attached an IEC lead that had fallen out. “He was able to get it all back up and running before the owner, who was on board with his family, woke up and went to use the system.”

Judging from its awards so far, Liquid Automation has the right recipe for reliability, innovation and excellence. Together with Alloy Yachts International, it seems certain the team will continue to make waves on a world stage. 

PROJECT Personnel: Sam Ashton – System design and project management Darian Sundar – Audio design Steve O’Brien – Programming Mike Snooks – Site manager/technician Mike Willis – System drawings/logistics Adam Dudding – Installation technician Lucas Rusden – Installation technician

MORE INFORMATION: Liquid Automation: www.liquidautomation.co.nz Alloy Yachts Vertigo: www.alloyyachts.co.nz/yachts/ sailing+yachts/Vertigo.html

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FEATURE

Someone Watching Over Me Taking some of the big bother out of reality television.

Text:/ Guy Harrison

Well we all know the Big Brother franchise; the reality TV concept developed in the Netherlands that spread across the globe like a voyeuristic pathogen. The recipe goes: place 16 contestants in a nice house with no links to the outside world for 16 weeks. The contestants are required to do housework and Big Brother, an omnipresent god-like voice, assigns tasks to the contestant designed to test their teamwork and community mindedness. Each week the ‘housemates’ (personally, I prefer ‘inmates’) vote to decide which of their brethren gets ‘nominated’ for eviction. Once nominated, the viewing audience decide whether they stay or go. Eventually the last man/woman standing takes home the cash prize which this season is a cool $250,000. Debuting in Australia on the 10 Network in 2001, BB enjoyed eight Australian seasons before audiences dwindled and ultimately BB was dropped. Now in 2012 BB is back but this time it’s the Nine Network rolling the dice. It’s a social experiment on a grand scale and to keep Big Brother’s eyes always open there is a lot of tech doing the hard yards 24/7. So let’s take a peek.

WIRED. WEIRD

Set on the Gold Coast’s DreamWorld fun park, the Big Brother house is nestled away from the outside world and from any

studio for that matter. With approximately 44 cameras, 35 mics, 40 comms panels and a house 300m away, reliable infrastructure is pivotal to the success of the show. Fibre is the backbone of the BB installation for both audio and video.

There are 2 x 48-way single mode fibres between the house and control room for video and 2 x 6-way multimode fibres to run audio. Fibre was chosen as there are a lot of variables in the BB show. Sometimes the show’s host, Sonia Kruger, goes into the house and presents the show from there. On those occasions lots of signals have to go back to the house for monitoring, etc.

Fibre allows for this versatility.

STUDIO LABYRINTH

The Big Brother studio facility is a labyrinth of rooms and technologies. The show by its very nature creates unique challenges. It is part OB for the Eviction and Nomination shows, complete with live studio audience. On the flip side, it can almost be likened to a non-stop sports event with loads of cameras and tons of audio sources which need to be constantly monitored, mixed then packaged into a daily show and two weekly shows. To make all this happen, the studio facility consists of House Control, Avid Video Editing Suites, an Audio Studio that services House Control, and another OB-style

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The Lawo Mc56 console in the OB truck handles all microphone processing. The Reidel Artist comms panel sits on the top at the right.

control room for the Live Eviction and Nomination shows.

This studio utilises a VISRT’s Viz Engine and Viz Trio for graphics/real-time compositing, a DVS for slow-mo and replays and a couple of Sony Digi Beta tape machines. An audio studio based around a Lawo Mc56 digital console (more on this in a moment) handles the live OB shows’ audio needs.

The Big Brother house itself plays host to a plethora of technology as well. The 44-odd cameras (depending on the needs) total comprise five Sony HDC 2400s on pedestals and two on a rail system, 17 Hot Head cameras (four Camera Corps Q-Balls and 13 Sony HDC-X310). There are also eight static cameras and approximately seven infra-red cameras in the bedroom. The balance are ‘duty of care’ cameras monitoring some areas.

COHERENT TV

Creating some kind of coherent TV out of all this is a challenge. Michael Eveleigh BB’s Technical Manager explains: “The first thing to understand is that it’s simply not practical to record every camera 24/7 and put it all together in post. It would involve too much data and be an editing nightmare. So the way it’s handled is by having a control room that is outputting two streams. By two streams I mean that there are essentially two teams following the action at all times. Each can be recording a close-up cut stream and a wideshot iso (isolated feed) camera of whatever room they happen to be filming. These outgoing studio video streams are recorded to an EVS server then passed to an Avid Isis server for the video edit suites to craft the packages which will be used on the BB show. Of course, this is happening two-fold, so we can be creating two cut streams and two iso wideshots. We also have provision to record another two camera feeds. So with the limited number of rooms in the house this means we have it completely covered. Each of these video streams also has its own audio facility, so the audio is being mixed live and recorded with the video stream. This really speeds up the workflow.”

Other scenarios are covered by a combination of static, remote-controlled cameras and manned cameras. For

instance when Big Brother assigns the housemates a task there can be as many as five cameramen on a combination of the pedestal and track cameras while also utilising shots from static and remote controlled cameras. With all this footage and a daily deadline the Avid video editing suites get a serious workout. There are nine suites used for the day-today editing and that can swell to 15 in peak times like the Big Brother launch and finale.

AUDIO CONSISTENCY

BB audio poses another set of its own unique challenges. I tracked down Salvadore Santos (Global TV’s head of audio and communications) to give me the lowdown. Salvadore explains: “Traditionally BB was running a lot of analogue signal. While there was a Reidel network system in place it was never fully utilised. The Riedel system uses a fibre network and by more fully exploiting it we have streamlined workflows, provide improved functionality and reliability.

Part of the challenge here at BB is the myriad audio sources, communication systems and audio monitoring that all needs to function. The Riedel network which comprises two nodes (128x128 plus 32x32) and the Lawo Mc56 digital console provides us with great functionality.

“To illustrate what I’m talking about let’s take the housemates’ wireless Lectrosonics mics, as this will allow me to explain a common signal flow. Those mics hit the radio receivers and the analogue output signal then gets digitised and fed to the Lawo DSP core which provides some processing like compression and EQ. The signal is then fed to the Stream Audio studio’s Yamaha digital mixing consoles via MADI and also to the Riedel network via AES, making it available as a source on the network and therefore to any audio comms panel in the complex.

This is pretty much the path for all audio sources. The beauty of this setup is the consistency in sound. All sources are getting the same processing every day. When the signal arrives at the Yamaha DM2000 and M7 digital consoles in the Stream Audio studio there is no processing needed, all that’s required is to set levels. I should also mention that those particular sources, the housemates wireless mics, are being recorded 24/7 to a hard disk-based system. This

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Left: In the Stream Audio Suites the operators can concern themselves only with levels for the live action as all mic processing is performed upstream on the Lawo Mc56 console. Right: More VuePix panels, in two resolutions, are lurking behind the Eye in the Big Brother studio presentation set.

is just in case there is a problem with any of the stream audio mixes. Those files occasionally save the day.

“The Lawo Mc56 console is attached to the OB studio for the live shows (Nomination and Evictions) and handles all the broadcast audio associated with those shows on those days, but this is only half of its job. All day, every day, it is providing processing for almost all the house audio sources.”

ROUTING THE VOICE OF GOD

“As the Riedel fibre network is also managing all of our comms system it allows us to cleverly manage signals going the other way too. Like Big Brother himself for example. He has his own booth and his role is very diverse: one minute he’s speaking to the contestants in the Diary Room, then perhaps to the kitchen or lounge room. He may then need to discuss something with the BB Producer. In the past this was handled in the analogue domain with patchbays, normalling and multiple mics. Now, by utilising the Riedel

facilities, life is much simpler. Big Brother now uses just one mic, an EV RE20, which gets digitised and sent to the Lawo console for some ‘God like’ processing, then onto the Riedel node.

From there we can send it anywhere. So on his Riedel Artist 2000 series comms panel we set up some keys which he can press to route him to the different zones in the house. The other beauty of the Riedel system is that we can also get ‘states’ out of his panel, so we can see what buttons he is pressing. This allows for some confidence monitoring to ensure he’s getting it right. Now that the RE20 is on the network, we can also use it as his comms mic to speak to the director, for example. This can be programmed to another button on the Riedel Artist series 2000 comms panel that, when pressed, also turns off the Lawo effect processing. It’s really flexible.”

BACK TO FRONT MAYHEM

While there I couldn’t help but take a wander out onto the BB Live Show set. It’s quite eerie without the jeers of the audience. I had a quick

poke and found another mini control room dedicated to the big LCD. Here I spotted a Black Magic ATEM 2 M/E production switcher. Out the back I also noted that a Vuepix LED curtain was providing the dazzle in the eye of BB and a bit of research turned up the fact that apparently ArKaos MediaMaster 3.0 with its new video mapper function is being used to send one vision stream to two video walls of different pitches (outer and inner eye) to get them to act as one screen. Nice effect!

When I arrived on site I wasn’t sure if the experience would bring out the voyeur in me, or simply a tech’s paranoia in regards to what could go wrong. As it happens, I have nothing but admiration for the technical team. Big Brother places some of the most unusual and arduous demands on equipment in the world of broadcast and there’s plenty of ingenuity on display. Just as well the technical department is switched on, even when the contestants aren’t. 

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FEATURE

Not Just Another Car Launch

Below: Three hundred passengers going out for a spin in a Subaru Impreza.

Right: A little more bulky than a handicam, the SA9 sports nine preview monitors.

Bottom: A fleet of Christie 10K projectors hung from an octagonal truss provide the full wrap-around panoramic spectacle.

Driving up the stakes with marketing spin.

Text:/ Graeme Hague

How do you fit 300 people inside a single Subaru?

It sounds like an old joke, but it’s exactly what SOTA Creative suggested to Subaru when the marketing agency was asked how it envisioned taking the next Subaru Impreza and Subaru XV product launch to another level. The two companies enjoy a close relationship and Subaru’s approach to each launch is to challenge Leon Minervini, SOTA’s managing director, to come up with something new and original. So how about a nice drive in the country? Hmm, not so original. For everyone, all at the same time? Now it’s getting interesting.

Launching new car models is a funny business.

They’re usually lavish affairs with a lot of hype, even though the audience is mostly dealers and business partners who you’d think wouldn’t need much persuasion that the latest and greatest is… well, going to be the latest and greatest. The idea is to create excitement about the new models, which will hopefully translate into enthusiastic sales teams selling lots of cars… You get the idea and besides, AV production companies all over the world regard car launches as bread-andbutter gigs and nobody’s about to complain. They can be fiercely contested events, one-upping opposition car manufacturers in scale and grandeur. The ever-present

internet factor makes its mark, too. By the time folks arrive at the launch, chances are they already know every nut and bolt of the new vehicles thanks to leaked websites, 3D presentations and good ol’ YouTube.

There isn’t much left to impress them with, so launches need to be innovative with plenty of fresh content.

PANORAMIC PROJECTION

Subaru loved the idea of taking all its guests on a spectacular virtual drive around the hotspots of Sydney and nearby countryside, putting them inside the car with a full and accurate 360° panorama visible through all the windows and even the rear-view mirror. Using 360° projection isn’t a world-first – far from it. Lots of aircraft and maritime simulators are doing something similar and just about any expo worth attending will have a full-surround display working for somebody, somewhere (Ford in the USA has a full-time travelling ‘Cloud’ display that crisscrosses the country all year). But these are much smaller in size, using curved screens and, in the case of simulators, have the luxury of dedicated server rooms and soundproofing in a permanent facility.

The difference – and the ‘wow’ factor – with the Subaru show was the sheer size of the projection that

FEATURE

would allow 300 passengers inside the car.

SOTA began liaising with a company called Social Animal, headquartered in Los Angeles. Social Animal specialises in creating immersive 360° imagery for commercial applications using its proprietary SA9 camera system. Its delivery medium is mostly webbased, so projecting one of its videos on such a large scale in high definition was a new challenge. And there was another obstacle: Social Animal’s window of availability was right away, otherwise it was a nogo (they must work with our editors). Within a week a team of Social Animal creators and their equipment was bundled on a plane bound for Australia with filming scheduled to be completed over a single weekend.

HARD DRIVING

The SA9 system is a rig of nine 2K silicon-image cameras rigged in a mirrored array (opposing cameras precisely capture front and rear, left to right, etc). For this project the SA9 was mounted inside an open-top camera car.

Each camera has its own Mac laptop feeding HD data to a Blackmagic hard drive, which quickly filled and frequently had to be backed up to allow further shooting. Just the recipe for a pleasant Sunday drive.

039

Once everything had been captured, Social Animal left copies of the files with SOTA for safekeeping and took the originals back to LA for processing. The nine camera feeds were blended into a single strip for projection at 1080 pixels high – the easy bit – and something close to 23,000 pixels wide… Maybe not so easy.

Now it was Haycom AV’s turn to transform all this data into a projected reality. Haycom’s Stuart Gregg and his crew were given a single day to get everything ready.

The screen configuration ended up being an asymmetrical octagon. A total of 12 Christie Roadster HD10K-Ms were installed on a similar-shaped truss flown above the audience. The quiet running of these projectors was a major factor in their choice, even against competing models with more lumen punch.

Rear projection wasn’t an option and the overhead truss had to be carefully placed so no shadows were created on any part of the screen, and none of the audience members were at risk of copping an eyeful of a 10,000-lumen projector beam.

Two projectors covered each of the four larger facets of the octagon and blended with a single projector focused on the smaller corners. Each had its own computer dedicated to running essentially one-

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Nine first-surface mirrors and nine Silicon Imaging SI-2K Mini (2048 x 1080) cameras and nine MacBook Pro notebooks are used in Social Animal's unique SA9 360º panoramic image capture system.

twelfth of the final edit provided by Social Animal, all networked to a server running Watchout software to deal with most of the blending, while Christie’s Twist technology handled the rest plus the warping required. For redundancy, Haycom rigged an extra two HD10K-Ms focused in a standard wide-screen setup to the front. The 360° projection concept had one last hiccup – Haycom AV didn’t have 12 matched lenses. VR Solutions came to rescue, pulling out all the stops to supply the shortfall at very short notice.

MAP TIME

But first things first. No one wanted to see a bunch of Yank hoons zooming around the NSW countryside in a camera car. It was supposed to be a Subaru. So SOTA had some post-production to get done, mapping out the interior of the new car using still pictures against a green-screen background. Adding in the rear-view mirror was a little After Effects wizardry that Leon’s creative team was happy to take credit for. It was decided that the vision should speak for itself, and audio was kept to a minimum. Rather than opt for a more realistic surround-sound track of revving engines, a partner giving directions and the kids complaining from the back seat, a simple music track was used – except for the sound of a car door closing at the beginning.

Very tasteful.

Finally, as you’d expect, the launch was to culminate in the real thing with the Subaru Impreza arriving in a blaze of glory. Originally Subaru was hoping to fly the car in from the ceiling (why do they always want to fly stuff in? Nikki Webster’s got a lot to answer for), but

when the cost was estimated organisers wisely opted for a more conventional method – start the engine and drive it in. This required one of the larger screen facets, which were all custom-built scrims, to be flown on a track-bar and tabbed aside for the grand entrance. This wouldn’t be a problem in any bog-standard theatre but remember this was put together from scratch at the Hordern Pavilion. Also, the doorways for the guests and catering staff were created in the corners of the screens. All these gaps in the scrims had to be carefully monitored, not only to prevent anyone inadvertently walking through at a crucial moment, but to maintain the impression of a seamless, continuous screen.

FREE RIDE

The end result was nearly four minutes of 360° vision that had punters reaching for seat belts and hanging onto chairs as they swept around tight corners. Even the hard-core AV techs admitted it was something to behold. The entire surround screen was then used for presentation content and a second video showing a montage of Subaru models past and present. The whole event was held twice for a variety of Subaru staff and guests, and also included presentations by VIPs in the round and a band playing on a stage placed behind the tabbed scrim, which was again pulled aside. Everyone agreed it was a fantastic, successful launch.

It makes you wonder just how much Leon Minervini at SOTA will be looking forward to his next project with Subaru – that challenge to come up with something different. Good luck with that, Leon. 

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FEATURE

The Museum That Bombs Actually, thanks to the sensitive and spectacular use of AV, The Defence of Darwin Experience is a big hit.

Text:/ Christopher Holder

Darwin is a curious place. I’ve never been, and I expect you’ve probably not been either. Darwin is the archetypical frontier town with crazy weather, crazy people, and the odd crazy idea. [Less than 25 registered AV readers, just so you know – Ed.] One crazy idea was to build a world-class museum that dramatises the story of the bombing of Darwin in World War II. If like me, you thought the bombing of Darwin amounted to not much more than a couple of lost Japanese Zeros jettisoning their leftover bombs onto a footy oval, then it may surprise you that the event is even worthy of such an exhibit. Well, I guess this is exactly what the Defence of Darwin Experience (DODE) is all about, demonstrating to us ignorant southerners the gravity of this unique assault on our sovereignty. [My Dad was stationed there at the time, so we're not all that ignorant – Ed.] The Defence of Darwin Experience (DODE) is a $10 million museum. Exhibition designers Convergence Design engaged The Pod Multimedia to develop and produce all multimedia and interactive components, and DRM AV to integrate the audiovisual components.

Unlike a typical museum, DODE uses the memories of the participants: soldiers, sailors, nurses, civilians and even Japanese commanders, which had been gathered over the years as oral histories. The POD and DRM’s challenge was to bring these stories to life in accessible and entertaining ways while conveying the ‘big picture’ story of the defence of Northern Australia, and while still being historically accurate according to strict curatorial guidelines – ie. ‘dramatic’ yet ‘accurate’. In all, there are three galleries comprising 17 audiovisual, multimedia and interactive programs. But the bigticket AV programs include the Bombing of Darwin Experience and the Darwin Battlefront Table, both worthy of further investigation here.

MAXIMUM IMPACT

As visitors go about their business viewing artefacts in Gallery 3, something a little different occurs: movement sensors detect their presence and all hell breaks loose. A WWII air raid siren begins to wail, the large door starts to slide shut, the iGlass panels in front of the displays turn opaque and the room lights dim. So begins the Bombing of Darwin Experience, a multi-sensory audiovisual spectacle that tells the story of the bombing of Darwin by Japanese aircraft on February 19, 1942 – the first raid ever on Australian soil by foreign forces.

As a starting point, The POD digitally manipulated and animated contemporary archive photographs of

Darwin – the images of the attacking planes and ships are accurate down to their livery, squadron colours and identification numbers. Historical accuracy has to be a priority in a museum context but The POD and DRM were just as concerned with immersing the viewer.

The iGlass projection surface is a hefty 10m wide and 2.2m high, and the audio spec ensures the explosions have the requisite impact. Meanwhile, lighting effects simulate the flash of machine gun fire and the glow of buildings aflame.

Running the Bombing show is a reasonably complex affair what with synchronising multiple projectors, the iGlass switching from transparent to opaque, strobes, moving and display lighting, as well as a number of mechanical features such as electronic doors, all of which need to be functional up to 20 times a day, every day, without fail.

The POD and DRM devised a customised show control system to not only speed up the installation process but also to ensure the running of the show could be controlled and monitored remotely. The show control was built in Flash and fires off IP commands that the AMX control system accepts and translates.

“That way if after the fact we need to dim the LED strip lighting or change colour or the like, we can change the timing of all that,” DRM’s managing director Brad Hogan pointed out.

In fact, given The POD Multimedia and DRM AV are both based in Melbourne, this ability to painlessly monitor, maintain and fine-tune the exhibits remotely has proven invaluable.

The iGlass was a particularly big hit on this job.

Manufactured not so far from AV’s editorial offices in Mount Helen, Vic, DRM uses the transformative powers of the glass to indeed transform the visitor’s environment: one minute they’re viewing exhibits through a glass cabinet, the next they’re plunged into the noise and strobing disorientation of a simulated air raid with the glass acting as highly effective projection surface.

TABLED QUESTION

The Darwin Battlefront Table is the focal point of Gallery 2. It’s an interactive exhibit that takes the form of a map table, familiar to anyone who’s seen the start of Dad’s Army. But instead of a printed map, The POD used an actual photographic aerial view of Darwin taken in 1942 by the RAAF as a projection on the table surface (via a Panasonic HD projector). Around the periphery of the table are four ELO 22-inch touchscreens. On each of these is a menu of 27 people who were in Darwin

GEAR HIGHLIGHTS AMX controller 11 x NEC short throw projectors 5 x Mitsubishi short throw projectors 1 x Panasonic HD projector for the Darwin Battlefront Table 20 x Roku 1010 media players 15 touchscreens 18 x Windows/Mac computers Video capture for story share exhibit iGlass panels, lighting effects, door controller for the Bombing of Darwin Experience 5.1 Surround System MORE INFORMATION Defence of Darwin Experience: www.defenceofdarwin.nt.gov.au The POD Multimedia: www.the-pod.com.au DRM Audio Visual: www.drmav.com.au

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The iGlass cabinet front transforms into a projection screen for the Bombing of Darwin Experience.

BEFORE AFTER

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The Darwin Battlefront Table shows actual aerial images of Darwin from 1942 projected from above by a Panasonic projector. The four ELO touchscreens enable visitors to select from one of 27 stories about the bombing . Each story interacts with the central projected map.

at the time of the bombings. As you tap on one of the people listed, the aerial photograph animates and zooms in to where that person was on the day of the first raids.

As other visitors select people on the other touchscreens, the photograph animates and changes scale to show where their selected character was on the day. (If, by chance, all visitors at the table select one particular person, the photograph will zoom into an extreme close up of where that person was located.) As a person is selected from the menu, the visitor at that touch screen hears that character’s story taken from recorded oral histories.

Brad Hogan: “Interactive tables of this kind – that convey the quantity of info and respond to as many people as this – can be very expensive. So the idea of going with the four unique touchscreens and projection onto the table worked well – better than a GestureTek or MultiTouch solution, in our opinion. We didn’t have the budget for those types of solutions but this approach has proven to be very effective.”

The software running the application is a Flashbased program and the operation of the interactivity is similar to a website. A mainframe computer acts as a web server with four Apple Mac minis independently

accessing information from the mainframe. Each visitor can interact and separately control what is happening on the projected table.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

I believe it’s significant that the curators of this museum comprehended one crucial point in making the DODE a compelling experience. Quite simply, it’s the personal accounts of those who were there. The audiovisual installation – although spectacular at times, and always well designed – is there to support those accounts. And perhaps this is where The POD and DRM AV deserve the biggest pat on the back: having the patience and sensitivity to track the ups, downs, and curveballs thrown by this project to achieve the right result.

The proof of the pudding is a wildly successful museum where attendances have far outstripped even the most optimistic expectations. Not bad in a time when audiences have ‘seen it all’ – whether that be Saving Private Ryan in the cinema or spending the entire weekend in front of Call of Duty. Clearly this is an audiovisual success story, and maybe… just possibly… reason enough for us lily-livered southerners to visit our nation’s northern capital. 

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FEATURE

Battle of the Brands Do Australia’s Chinese LED panels stack up against big name competitors? AV reports from the X Factor set.

Text:/ Paul Collison

The VuePix range of LED panels developed by Australian visual technology company ULA Group are becoming increasingly prominent on the Australasian production scene.

It is a brand that has grown up very quickly and now competes with more established names such as Barco and Lighthouse.

With almost 600 panels encompassing the entire studio on the current season of X Factor Australia, I figured it was about time to have a closer look.

It was 2006 when ULA saw an emerging market in LED display technology and took steps to enter the fray. Initially the company went into partnership with one of the many OEM LED manufacturers in mainland China to bring a suitable, affordable LED display product to Australia. It soon became apparent the arrangement was not ideal. Consequently a local partnership was formed that allowed ULA and friends to establish their own manufacturing hub in mainland China with more efficient manufacturing processes and increased quality control. It also sped up development and meant greater control over the design, development and growth of its products.

The functional aspects of the panels were just as important as the bottom line, according to ULA’s John Buchanan. “It was the P18 VuePix product that really got things going for us,” he says. “Being a mesh type product, it meant that LDs could put lights behind the screen and use it as a scenic element as well as a display element. It was quick to set up, lightweight and of course, very cost effective. It created a good solid foundation for future VuePix products.”

STAR QUALITIES

It’s a long way from the P-18 to the new range of 12mm E Series that surrounds the X Factor studio. Although labeled an

outdoor product, the E series is equally at home indoors and with a panel size of 400 x 800mm, it is incredibly quick to install. With two locking mechanisms per side and a single fly lead system for power and data conections, an average size wall can be built and configured very quickly.

The panels have a dry weight of only 6.5kg each and a transparency of roughly 35 per cent, which significantly reduces the wind signature of a large screen in outdoor use and makes the E-12 ideal for festivals and other large-scale events.

Mesh type screens have become popular with LDs around the world as they allow the placement of lighting fixtures behind them – there are some great effects to be had with walls of blinders and moving lights behind a screen, for instance.

The other benefit of this type of screen is their weight. To keep the look clean and uncluttered, the panels that surround the X Factor audience are discreetly suspended below the main overhead truss by 3mm steel cables. Fortunately, the panels maintain their own rigidity without the need for ugly header bars, which can add excess weight. You would struggle to find a similar product that could be hung the same way.

An outstanding aspect of the E Series is its ability to create concave and convex curves. With 7.5° and 15° options, a seamless curve or 360° surface is possible. In fact, a curved surface freestanding on a stage requires no more rigging than the panels themselves, making the E12 ideal for corporate or theatrical productions.

MAGNETIC APPEAL

Another VuePix product that populates the X Factor set, although on a smaller scale, is the new DigiFlex. Designed as a modular solution for off-the-wall applications, the DigiFlex

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DigiFlex – off the wall and on the desk

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FEATURE

DigiFlex sports magnets on its back for attachment in unusual places.

is right at home in the front portion of the judges’ desk. It is freely flexible in both convex and concave uses, and slots in anywhere with a panel size of just 320mm x 160mm, with a 10mm pitch. If you’re struggling for mounting options on a tricky set piece, these are the guys you want to use.

Rather than relying on heavy mounting bracket options, each DigiFlex panel has magnetic points along the top and bottom. The X Factor judges’ desk is new for 2012 and lighting designer Ian Anderson recommended the DigiFlex after using it on The Price Is Right.

“The DigiFlex is not your average plug and play product,” Anderson says. “It is great for these applications where a normal LED panel just wouldn’t work. The panels are tiny so you can really pay fine attention to detail when it comes to mounting. The fact it bends so easily means you can work it in to just about any situation.”

The DigiFlex is never going to win an award for its video quality but, even though it’s shot slightly off-axis on the X Factor, it maintains reasonable colour rendering and has enhanced the desk as an integral set piece.

Of course a LED display is useless without a LED processor. This device takes vision input and converts it into RGB values to distribute to the panels. I’ve never met one of these that I’ve liked; they’re usually unintuitive and poorly designed with menus that don’t make sense and hidden buttons that generally are the ones you need. Nor have I met a person who really knows how to use one, which is surprising given that almost 80 per cent of the LED screens made in China have the exact same processor.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

The new VuePix T7e processors we are using to drive all the 12mm VuePix E Series on the X

Factor set aren’t a complete exception to that rule, but they come close. For a start, the units are actually rack mountable, and ULA has taken a new design step with just two buttons on the front panel: brightness up and brightness down.

Suddenly, these are my favorite processor. I can glance at the rack and know if our 10 or so outputs of VuePix are at the right brightness and anyone, even me, can change the brightness with ease.

The rest of the configuration is done through third party software on a PC. The interface is similar to other systems but less fragile for the end user. There are two different areas of the configuration software: one for configuring the wall only, and another where more in depth work can be done – here you can access refresh rates, grey scale and brightness values. Both of these have their own passwords for protection.

The software for this system can also ‘talk’ directly to the wall from the host PC’s own gigabit Ethernet port.

I like that the LED technician can sit centrally and talk to every processor in the system and balance the screen elements. The only disappointment is that the processors only take a DVI signal. This means in a professional broadcast environment, you have to convert the SDI back down to DVI to get vision through to a display. That’s not too much of a problem, except that every additional device in the line brings with it unwanted latency.

HEAD TO HEAD

So how does the overall product compare to the big name brands? Well, that’s an interesting question. On the X Factor set there are a collection of Barco and VuePix products. We’ve found that matching colours across the three types of VuePix products to be very accurate.

In fact, there has been more trouble persuading the different Barco products to balance to each other than the VuePix. As the VuePix seems more malleable in terms of colour balance than the Barco, we’ve actually had the VuePix panels doing the hard work of matching to the lessadjustable Barco products. Ultimately the Barco product is probably better in overall picture quality, but the VuePix isn’t too far behind.

And while the Barco products have always done some funny off-axis colour-shifting, be it vertical or horizontal, the VuePix does seem to hold together slightly better off-axis.

All LED screens suffer at the lower end of their brightness scale and here the VuePix is no different. X Factor is shot under relatively low light levels, which means the screens are often run at extremely low levels. They can border on losing their integrity but this is treacherous path we travel often to be able to find that sweet spot that makes a scene.

ULA has come a long way with its VuePix range. The brand has become strong both locally – there isn’t one large profile show on Australian television lately that hasn’t used VuePix at some point – and overseas. And the story doesn’t stop here. There is a true 3mm pitch panel in the works, offering just about the smallest pitch available, as most panels purporting to be 3mm are actually 3.7mm or higher.

It’s not hard to see why ULA has been so successful with its LED displays. By establishing a major manufacturing hub and investing deeply in that process, the company can deliver a high quality product while end users can be confident of local support and knowledge.  CONTACT ULA: 1300 852 476 or www.ula.com.au

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REVIEW

Yamaha CL Series Digital Mixing System

Price CL5: $30,000; CL3: $27,500; CL1: $19,700 MBCL: $1500; Rio3224D: $9500; Rio608D: $6000

Text:/ Trevor Cronin

Over 25 years ago Yamaha became one of the pioneers of digital audio, with the DMP7 being its first digital mixer. It has since offered the pro audio world a vast array of popular digital mixing consoles. The Yamaha PM5D large format mixing console has been an industry standard for many years along with the smaller M7CL, LS9 and 01V live mixers and the O2R and DM series studio consoles. Price-wise, the CL series fits in somewhere between the PM5D and the M7CL, but depending on what configuration is purchased, it can far exceed the capability and functionality of both.

THE PACKAGE DEAL

This is a complete audio interface and mixing system that allows for the full range of audiorelated input, control, manipulation, storage, output and distribution of audio signals required for any AV production environment.

It’s a very powerful package, combining technologies from many of the leading players in the professional audio world with Yamaha’s own wealth of leading technologies and manufacturing. New for Yamaha, the system uses the Australian-developed Dante digital audio network for passing audio in and out of the system, with remote stage boxes and other devices connected via Cat5 cables. It’s a big move to discard the commitment to Ethersound on this new product. Obviously Yamaha figures that Dante is the best system currently available.

The new console sticks with the existing Centralogic user interface with a touchscreen not dissimilar to the M7CL model, featuring a bigger and better viewing area and much faster operation. The fader name display is now large and fully customisable with colours (a little like a Midas), and feature an encoder for gain, pan, etc. Continuing with the existing Yamaha standard, three mini YGDAI card bays are included for connection of a large range of interfaces.

Yamaha and Lab.gruppen have teamed up to allow Lake Processing (another Australian developed technology) on the new MY8-LAKE expansion card. The card provides 8-in/8-out Mesa system EQ, 4-in/12-out Contour speaker crossover, and 4-in/4-out and 2-in/6-out Mesa

Contact Yamaha Commercial Audio (03) 9693 5272 jason_allen@gmx.yamaha.com

and Contour combination modes. The Mesa EQ can also be used on input sources. The Lake Controller application running on a computer allows full access and management of Lake, and compatibility with Smaart Live analysing and speaker tuning software.

There is also a new Dugan Designs automatic microphone mixer card (MY-16). Check out the Yamaha website for available cards. www. yamahaproaudio.com ON STAGE WITH RIO

The CL relies on the all-new Rio external stage boxes for its connections. I say ‘all-new’ because the Rio houses a new mic preamp design that have a handy new gain sharing feature (similar to what Digico operators are used to) that allows two or more consoles to adjust the head amp gain without affecting each other’s settings – so no more arguments between front of house, monitors and broadcast engineers. The new Rio head-amps are certainly better sounding, not thin or harsh sounding even when levels are near maximum.

Yamaha has generally been playing catch-up when it comes to the overall sound of their products and with the CL they have managed to make large improvements.

Two Rio options are available: the 5U Rio3224D provides 32 ins, 16 outs, and four AES/EBU digital outputs, and the 3U Rio1608D has 16 ins and 8 outs but no AES. Up to eight units can be connected to the console. Via console control you can flash LEDs on the boxes to show which box or channel needs to be patched. No doubt there will be some new products to supplement these two models in the future with different input and output options. Being Dante you can use the Rio boxes with any other Dante system, or Ethernet enabled computer. Add Dante cards to your PM5D and use the Rio units, or hook up a computer to a Rio3224D for a very small and practical 32-in/16-out recording system.

CENTRALOGICAL IN USE

At this stage there are three consoles available – CL1, CL3 and CL5. The CL5 package can have a maximum of 72 mono inputs and 40 outputs, and features 34 faders. For monitor

mixing duties you can configure 32 mixes (24 mix and 8 matrix busses) all with output EQ. The console interface will feel comfortable to users of other Yamaha mixers due to the continued use of the Centralogic interface, which is also where the console gets its name – CL= Central Logic. For those new to Yamaha digital mixers, it’s laid out in a way that should offer little difficulty getting your head around how it all works. There are enough knobs, buttons, faders and meters to use before needing to touch the screen. Build quality is superb, using a strong one-piece aluminium extrusion, which is quite an impressive piece of engineering.

Internally the system uses the Yamaha operating system and features all-new DSP along with new faster and higher capacity electronics. This makes the CL more powerful and energy efficient compared to previous models. There are plenty of great new features to make the life of live sound engineers just that bit easier.

LIVE RECORDING

Record and playback from a USB key is a great Yamaha feature that has again been included in this unit. It is only in ‘lo-fi’ MP3 (or WMA/ ACC) format, so fine for the intro music and a quick recording for reference. For higher quality recordings a PC or Mac computer with Dante network drivers can run the included Steinberg Nuendo ‘Live’ multi-track hard disk system for show recording and virtual sound check/general playback.

No extra interface is required as Dante uses the computer’s high-speed network port for bidirectional transfer. More than one computer can be used at the same time – such a great feature for critical live recordings or playback.

The Integration of Steinberg’s Nuendo using Dante is a fantastic feature, it allows for stateof-the-art recordings for very little extra cost (no need to bring in the OB truck). Steinberg is owned by Yamaha and the console features a slightly stripped down version of Nuendo that can handle 64 inputs and 64 outputs.

Tracks are automatically named from the console inputs and there is a 60-second prerecord function, so you don’t miss the start

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DANTE CHEAT SHEET Standard IP Network Protocols: Only need one standard network that can handle any sample rate or bit depth. Achieves low latency and tight sync.

Zen: No specialised skills required to set up an audio network. Won’t be any IP address conflicts.

Universal Control Capability: Control data and audio distribution on the one network. Dante network happy to ‘share’ with personal computers.

Flexible Channel Routing: Efficient multicast pruning.

Unicast for point to point. Redundant channel connections.

Channel Count: Better than 48 x 48 channels at 48kHz on a 100BaseT network. Better than 512 x 512 at 48kHz on gigabit ethernet.

of the show! Any ASIO-compatible recording software can also be used if you prefer, or a standalone recorder such as the JoeCo Black Box with Dante interface.

COMPUTER LINK

Superseding the Studio Manager software, the new on/off-line editing and configuration software is much easier to set up, it doesn’t require an extra driver and goes online nearly instantly. There is a new file converter so you can convert PM5D/M7CL/LS9 show files for use on the CL. Wireless remote control of the console is really easy with the iPad application, with iPad and editor control of the system able to both work at the same time. Smaller shows and static setups will no longer need an extra console for monitoring if there is someone knowledgeable in the band with good ears and an iPad. Overall it’s a really well sorted integration with external computers, well done Yamaha.

The smallest model (CL1) weighs under 32kg in a flight case, so is able to be put on an aircraft as checked luggage, with the Rio interfaces and cables in a separate case.

HANDY NEW TOOLS

Yamaha has included some great tools that speed up workflow – graphic EQ on faders, sends on faders and customisable grouping of input channels, along with user configurable buttons and knobs. ‘Touch & Turn’ is a fabulous new

feature that allows a user assigned knob to be instantly associated with any knob touched on the touch screen. In another new approach the mute groups can now be configured as ‘dimmer groups’. It’s a one-button solution to instantly reduce the level of included channels by a preprogrammed amount.

The feel of this console, the new faders, control knobs and touch screen all have a positive fast and sensitive analogue touch, which is a big improvement from previous Yamaha efforts.

Virtual Circuit Modelling (VCM) technology has allowed Yamaha to present the sound and functionality of Neve Designs’ EQ and compressors as on-board processors along with a bunch of great sounding new processors in the ‘Premium Rack’, along with all our favourite Yamaha digital effects from the past.

There are the equivalent of eight SPX effects units onboard along with eight of the new ‘premium’ effects machines that offer realistic sounding emulations of Pultec EQ, Urei 1176LN and Teletronix LA2A compression, and Neve Portico processors. The sound and functionality of the effects and processors is the best yet from a Yamaha digital console. I really like the tonal colour of the Rev X reverb, and Neve Portico 5033 EQ and 5043 Compressor, while the Dynamic EQ is very powerful. There is also a Waves MY effects card available if you need extra plug-ins.

THE CASE OF CL

For the price, Yamaha has produced what is arguably the most complete solution available for the control of audio for live performance and live recording. There’s no waiting here for the next version of firmware or software upgrades for all the great features and capacity to operate correctly, seems it’s been sorted already. Yamaha has also signed off on Dante as the world’s preferred system for transmission and control of digital audio. It looks like there is now a clear leader in the digital format competition – good news for this Australiandeveloped system. It offers great value for the package of capacity and features it supplies.

Certainly the fact Yamaha has aligned itself so heavily with Dante will give it a big leg-up in the AV installation sector. Any venue using Dante can seamlessly plumb a CL into its network. In fact, the possibilities are very enticing. A small inventory of CLs could easily account for a whole variety of duties within a larger venue – wherever there’s a Cat5/6 patch panel… in the foyer, courtyard, meeting room, restaurant etc. What’s more, pop a cheap-aschips Dante card into a PC and you have full multitrack recording and playback anywhere on the network. The savings on audio specific cabling – whether it be copper, fibre, coax or bespoke, Ethersound-style protocols – would be considerable. 

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REVIEW

Midas Pro1 Small Format Digital Live Console Text:/ Guy Harrison

Midas has never been a company to rush things. Many considered its entrance into the digital console market to be tardy at best.

But the 2006 release of the large-format XL8 ultimately proved to be a revelation.

Demonstrating that Midas was not content to simply release a carbon copy of other digital consoles in the market at the time, but had listened to engineers and re-thought how to access a digital console more efficiently. Midas did more than just introduce new buttons, they brought colour to the workspace and a new approach to grouping and redundancy that continues throughout the Midas digital console product line today.

THE BABY ARRIVES

Smaller consoles inevitably followed the XL8 with the Midas Pro range delivering the Pro9, 6, 3, and 2 (not in order of debut), until eventually the baby of the family arrived – the Pro1.

Unlike its digital brethren, the Pro1 can act as a drop-in replacement for an analogue console. It backs 24 mic inputs along with 16 XLR bus outputs plus Left, Right, Mono, and Control Room A and B outputs. Internal processing allows for access to 40 inputs and eight return buses all of which have four-band parametric EQ and inserts. These additional input channels can be accessed utilising the rear AES 50 ports over Cat5 cable connected to one of Midas’s optional stage boxes. This makes for a great ‘buy-now/expand-later’ option. The display is daylight viewable and, according to Midas, for the same reason it’s

also not a touchscreen – not entirely sure about that logic. But it does mean you can use the console without having to be under a canopy at an outdoor show, or shading the screen while trying to operate single-handedly. Instead of accessing a touchscreen, navigation is controlled by a trackball and various buttons.

To put the Pro1 through its paces I decided to put it to use on a music TV show The Music Café where I would be mixing live for a studio audience, multi-track recording the show and providing a mix for cameras. Oh yeah, there would also be three bands with varied line ups appearing on the day. It’s fair to say that it would be a routing challenge. Considering I’d only had limited time on Midas digital consoles I decided it prudent to do the Midas training course. An added advantage of doing the training course was having the very helpful Midas rep on hand to help me build my show file.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH

Out of the box, the Pro1’s I/O is going nowhere – the first job is to organise your routing. This is a point of difference over most other small format digital consoles but it does allow for great flexibility when connected to one or more of the Midas stage boxes. Thankfully Midas has made the routing a fairly quick process with some clever modes that allow you to do things like route consecutive inputs to buses with a few button presses. As we were multitrack recording the show, the local inputs on the rear of the Pro1 were to be routed to the stereo bus, and we would be connecting the AES50 ports to the Midas-recommended

Klark Teknik DN9696 recorder that CPC Production Services graciously supplied for the gig (thanks CPC).

Next step is to choose how you will allocate your DSP processing between effects and graphic EQs. There is plenty of processing available on the Pro1. You can choose combinations between six effects and eight graphic EQs, through to one effect and 28 graphic EQs. As I would be providing six sends of foldback I went with the first combination, using a graphic EQ for each of my six foldback sends, leaving two spare for FOH duties. After routing Buses 1-6 to the physical XLR outputs on the rear of the Pro1, I then assigned the Graphic EQs to those buses, set them to prefade and was done.

At first I must admit I found starting from scratch with the routing on the Pro1 a bit of a chore, and thought to myself, ‘What’s the point?’

But then I got to thinking, there’s a lot packed into this small console. It’s not just a one-trick pony that would warrant being pre-set. The Pro1 can access up to 100 inputs, 102 outputs, and process 40 input channels and eight returns with full EQ and dynamics processing, as well as provide mixes to 27 buses.

But how could you possibly control those 40 inputs effectively on the 16 faders supplied on the Pro1? Well, Midas has given that some thought too. While most digital desks use a layers system to get at all the input channels, Midas has a different approach. The faders on the Pro1 are split into two groups of eight with the left-most fader group designed to be used for channels, and the right, VCA groups. Page

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NETWORKED PROGRAMMABLE DSP SYSTEMS buttons are provided beside the left fader group to allow you to access the channels beyond the first eight. Also an Extend button will make the right VCA faders into channel faders if this is your preference. Holding down a VCA Group on the right and selecting channels from the left fader group assigns them to that VCA master, which you can separate be name and colour.

In my case, the most complex band I worked on was a five-piece pop/rock outfit, so as well as having the usual VCA groups of Guitars, Keys, Vocals, etc, I also set up an effects return on a VCA too. Nothing groundbreaking so far, but here’s the twist; now that I’d assigned all the channels to VCAs, when I selected any VCA it brought only its channel members to the left fader group. So when I selected the Vocal VCA group, my left bank of eight faders only show my six radio mics on inputs 19-24 and all a pretty blue – genius! This is a far cleverer way to access channels than searching down through the main channel faders to find them. And if that’s not enough there are six POP (Population) groups available, which are similar to a VCA’s grouping, just without a fader. Pressing any of the 16 bus buttons brings them to the faders and a similar function called Collapsed Flip is available so only channels contributing to the selected bus appear on the left faders. There are also eight rotary encoders and eight buttons above the left fader bank which vary in use depending on where you are on the screen. These can also be custom programmed to be whatever you like when in the home screen.

The Midas mic preamps carry a lot of hype. It’s the oldest trick in the book for Midas engineers to run the mic pres hot to really hoe into their pleasing saturation. But on a typical digital console it’s not easy to push the mic pre into saturation as gain structures will generally digitally clip the input before the mic pre saturates – they are in effect hard wired and factory set. Midas gets around this limitation by providing both analogue and digital gain stages. These are available on the same knob with a ‘swap’ button to switch between them. You can wind up the analogue gain for some pleasant harmonic saturation, and then use the digital trim to set your gain structure. Ah, makes me forget I’m on a digital console!

Th e S o u n dw e b L o n d o n 1 0 0 S e r i e s r e p r e s e n ts a p r e mi u m, o p en - a rch i t e c t u r e s o l u ti o n i n th e f o r m o f a h ig h l y f l e x i b l e , c o s t-e f f e c tive a n d s c a l a b l e p a ck a g e .

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DYNAMIC IN THE DETAIL

As you would expect, the Pro1 is feature laden but it’s the small details that make all the difference. EQ-wise – high- and low-pass filters are available with switchable slopes plus a four-band parametric EQ with a choice of four different filter types for the high and low bands. Some of these EQ shapes are derived from past Midas analogue consoles in case you’re feeling nostalgic. The dynamics section is equal to any task with four different styles of compression available. Gating is as you would expect. All sections contain a button that when pressed brings it to the screen, with well thought out visual representations, the gate graphic in particular makes setting it a doddle.

Copy and paste is also well implemented, taking in whatever is currently on screen. If you want to copy one

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vocal EQ to another channel, press the button in the EQ section to bring it to the screen, press Copy, select the channel you want to paste it to and hit Paste. Being in the channel overview screen means all settings can be copied. ‘Group’ and ‘All’ are available options for pasting to multiple channels.

The effects on the Pro1 are also outstanding. The Midas and Klark Teknik link is apparent with a few KT classics featured, such as the DN780 multi-effects unit and the more recent SQ1 dynamics processor. There are also the usual suspects from delays and choruses, to pitch shifters, reverbs and multi-band compressors.

And the version two software update adds even more.

All effects can be used ‘send and return’ style or inserted on channels.

LITTLE GUY, BIG SOUND

Which brings me to the sound. Quite simply, brilliant!

You will be hard pressed to find a better sounding console at any price point. Everything about this console oozes quality. From the moment you pull your first kick drum sound everything just feels right. Sure it’s a digital console and there is a learning curve but with your hands on the controls it feels very analogue. As you sweep a parametric EQ the image is rock-solid stable. It never sounds like something is stepped or shifting – no matter what you do. This is in part due to Midas’s internal processing and delay compensation management that keeps everything travelling through the console sample and phase accurate.

I will admit to being a little apprehensive about doing such a high pressure gig on so few faders but the way the Pro1 VCAs function makes navigation easy. After working this way I wished all digital consoles did. My only minor gripe? When I reach for a compressor I would prefer the default setting not to be infinity to 1!

And whilst I’m at it, the EQ default Q of 0.27 is a little sharp for me. Of course if I owned the console I would just change these defaults to what ever I wanted and save a new show file. That’s part of the beauty of the Pro1 too. It’s incredibly versatile. It’s crazy to think this little rack-mountable mixer can be a 27-send monitor console. If you’re in the market for a high-end console and are not scared by a small footprint, the Pro1 is a no brainer – two thumbs up! 

KLARK TEKNIK DN9696 RECORDER The Klark Teknik DN9696 is a standalone recording system and as the name would suggest is capable of a massive 96 channels at 24-bit/96k. It’s designed for use with Midas consoles so uses the AES50 protocol. It comes equipped with two internal drives for up to nine hours of recording and is controlled by a combination of mouse, keyboard and front panel controls.

Klark Teknik’s design brief was to create a simple to use standalone recorder that could withstand the rigours of touring.

Standing at 5U high it imposes a hefty footprint. Front panel space is mostly dominated by four rows of 24 LED ladders for metering. Large backlit transport controls for Stop, Record and Play, plus locate marker controls and some monitoring options round out the front panel. At the rear there is the AES 50 I/O plus all the connections you would expect to find on a computer including Firewire and E-sata drives.

The Klark Teknik GUI is simplicity itself. Everything is very cleanly presented and visible from the one screen. Channels are viewable in banks of 24 that can be switched via the mouse or front panel buttons situated beside the LED ladder rows. Some Midas thinking is visible on the GUI too, with POP groups and colouring available. In operation, the KT9696 was flawless and rock solid.

Files are recorded as broadcast wav and all in one folder for easy transport to an external drive. With my measly 24 tracks it didn’t even bother to write to its second internal drive! This would be an ideal device for virtual sound checking. In fact at the end of the Music Café TV recording I ticked two preference boxes on the Midas Pro1, pressed play on the KT9696, and played the last band’s set back through the Pro1 processing. Very cool indeed!

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MARTIN AUDIO MLA COMPACT A new medium-format PA with the sort of control system designers crave. Checkmate?

Text:/ Christopher Holder I very occasionally play chess. Mostly against the computer, and, given my lack of chops, it’s normally on the Easy mode. Quite often I’ll win, which isn’t as satisfying as you might think. In Easy mode, it’s obvious the computer is only thinking one move ahead.

If, for example, you offer up a bishop as bait, with the next move being checkmate, the computer falls for the obvious sacrifice every time. There’s no consideration for the next move.

Witnessing really experienced system designers in action is a little like watching chess grandmasters going at it. They know all the opening gambits – there’s nothing in the first 10 moves or so they’ve not seen before – and it’s not really ‘game on’ until quite deep into the match. Good system designers will get you 90% there with experience and their ears. The system’s modelling software and processing can then take over. But most software relies on you punching in some ‘what ifs’ and it’ll show you the predicted results — put another box in the array, splay the array a little more etc. Not exactly what you were hoping for? Then throw some alternative what-ifs into the mix.

But to continue the chess metaphor some more, what if half way into a match – with the remaining pieces poised on the board – you could ask the computer to show you the best, most elegant means to checkmate your opposition in 10 moves. The software would need to consider every permutation, not just a couple of ‘what ifs’. After all, every move impacts the options available on every other piece on the board. The complexity is mind boggling.

This is where Martin Audio is heading with MLA. Once it has the details of the room and your aims for the sound, it can marshal its chess pieces with an unprecedented level of sophistication.

COMPACT CV Dimensions: (W) 788 x (H) 280 x (D) 500mm Weight: 49.5kg Drivers: 2 x10-inch, 2 x 5-inch, 4 x 0.7-inch Power: (LF) 500W AES, 2000W Peak; (MF) 180W AES, 720W Peak; (HF) 40W AES, 160W Peak Dispersion: 100° (-6dB) Frequency Response: 65Hz–18kHz ±3dB Max SPL @ 1m: 135dB Peak

FROM BIG CHEESE TO FINE GRAINS

When L-Acoustics revolutionised the PA world with V-DOSC it encouraged us to understand its technology by considering the array as one large line source — a giant speaker, essentially. Thanks to speaker coupling, a V-DOSC array was (and is) chucking out a single ‘iso-phasic’ wavefront… like a big wedge of cheese. It was an utter revelation, without the destructive interference of the overlapping patterns of multiple speakers,

music lovers were enjoying ‘nearfield’ sound in a concert environment for the first time.

Over the years, line array sound has been tidied up even further with the advent of more sophisticated digital signal processing.

The likes of the Lake DSP (now owned by lab.Gruppen) made the most of the best in digital signal processing to largely eliminate crossover distortion, and to apply EQ without phase incoherencies. By being able to address each speaker box individually, or better still, to address the highs, mids and lows within the box, the system engineer/designer has considerable control at their fingertips.

The logical end point to all this fine-tuneability is having the luxury of individually addressing every single driver in the array, with its own DSP and amp channel. In so doing, you would have enormous scope to tweak the coverage and frequency response of the array to best fit the venue and the demands of the audience.

Essentially, this is what Martin Audio is promising with its ‘multicellular loudspeaker array’.

MLA SHOE HORN

Before you start thinking MLA is a triumph of algorithms over acoustics, it’s worth noting that the MLA Compact is a primo piece of engineering. Martin has shoe-horned a seemingly impossible complement of drivers, processing and amp modules into a very tidy package. The three-way enclosure houses 2 x horn-loaded 10-inch drivers, 2 x five-inch horn-loaded mids, and 4 x 0.7-inch HF devices. This firepower is driven by five Class D amps (delivering a total of 2.1kW continuous) boasting 135dB @ 1m for one enclosure, along with 65Hz–18kHz ±3dB frequency response and 100° horizontal dispersion (6dB down). At less than 800mm across and 280mm high, it’s an impressive piece of design.

CELLULAR REPRODUCTION

Squeezing eight highly-efficient drivers into a compact enclosure is one thing but to achieve the party tricks Martin Audio are justifiably proud of takes some sophisticated software and a decent amount of processing grunt.

Martin’s Display2.1 software does things a little differently to your average modelling program. Don’t panic, I won’t start talking about chess again. Once you punch in a 2D

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BRAINS BEHIND MLA COMPACT

DISPLAY2.1 How do you show the coverage of a system across all frequencies on the one plot? Like this. IndexPlot is like a vertical slice through the room, with dotted and full lines showing where seating areas and walls or stage zones begin/end. Denote certain surfaces as ‘hard avoid’ zones (like balcony fronts) and Display2.1 will crunch the numbers to steer the array’s sound away.

SIDE BY SIDE The speaker configuration is a little unusual for a compact system.

The lows are horn-loaded, while the mids and highs sit side by side.

According to Martin, by avoiding the usual co-entrant/crossfiring/ co-ax approach the MLA Compact can achieve a far more even and predictable horizontal coverage pattern.

Chris Holder talks to Martin Audio Research Manager, Ambrose Thompson, about the MLA multi-cellular approach.

Chris Holder: Martin Audio has gone out on its own with this multi-cellular approach. What prompted this ‘line of enquiry’?

Ambrose Thompson: If you cast your mind back to the start of the modern touring line array era, everyone assumed a line array must be uniformly driven – the same signal to every single point. For a long time it was the dominant dogma we heard preached. When Martin Audio began experimenting with line array we realised that approach simply wasn’t flexible enough – because using just the array shape to compensate for air absorption wasn’t always practical. Instead, we looked at our six-channel system controller and contemplated how to get the most out of it. So we decided to split the array into six zones. We used three channels for the HF, two channels for mids and one channel for low frequencies. We found that it gave us a much higher degree of control in compensating for environmental effects and we developed individual settings for different array shapes. That was back in 2001, and the technique we’re using now is a development of what we did then. Really, it started off with the motivation that the users were getting a pretty raw deal – they were handed a whole bunch of speakers and just told to get on with it.

CH: So it was the lack of flexibility of line array that you were responding to?

Ambrose: Sure. When we made our first line array, we put a uniform flat signal through it – like the dogma told us to – and it didn’t work properly. At the time we had no acoustic model and didn’t know what to expect. We ended up with an enormously bass heavy output. We quickly applied global EQ to balance the system and while it sounded impressive in some positions, it was frustrating that the only way we could alter the tonal balance relative to a position was by mechanically changing the shape of a very heavy array.

CH: What next?

Ambrose: We began to think about how best to optimise the array. The first step was getting its shape and splay angles right for the room it was in. We started to apply our ‘numerical optimisation’ to achieve that.

CH: ‘Numerical’ optimisation?

Ambrose: I qualify the word ‘optimisation’ with ‘numeric’ because ‘optimisation’ is a term bandied around in an inaccurate way. People talk about optimising an array, but what they’re really talking about is manual trial and error. What we’re doing is quantifying the output of the array (or the ‘quality’ of the array) on the audience (and, just as importantly, not the audience) with numbers, and these numbers are optimised.

CH: So you used maths to optimise the shape and splay of the array elements. What next?

Ambrose:: We thought, now let’s try doing a similar thing with EQ. We did an experiment in software and the results – the level of control and uniformity of sound over a designated area – were astonishing.

We built some prototypes and eventually we got to the point where we released a product.

CH: The MLA? Ambrose: Actually, the first system to benefit from

this approach was the Omniline, an install product with very small elements and a fixed requirement for coverage. In this application pure shape control and numerically optimised global EQ works well.

And, actually the first ever system to use numerically optimised elemental EQ was an Omniline array that [Australians] Glenn Leembruggen and David Gilfilian fitted to the Royal Institute in Adelaide. Then we released the MLA. CH: And that’s the MLA’s secret sauce isn’t it.

You’ve gone a long way to perfecting the EQ optimisation.

Ambrose: It didn’t come easily. We realised that we needed an accurate acoustic model and we needed to do a lot of work to be broadband accurate. The early models were good enough at high frequencies to do the array splay optimisation, but needed fine tuning for EQ. If you don’t know what’s really coming out of your speaker then there’s a good chance you can make it a lot worse.

CH: How did you arrive at the new IndexPlot?

Ambrose: The new plot is quite a nice side effect of our optimisation work. Let’s not forget, there are two domains we’re interested in as system designers: Space (a position in the audience) and Frequency. These were always served too much in one area – you’d have loads of frequency plots in one position or loads of positions at one frequency.

Part of the optimisation process was to look at all frequencies at the one time, together with this accurate acoustic model. The model needed to be comprehensive and, above all, needed to be really fast – in fact, we can solve the acoustic output of an array at all frequencies in a medium-sized venue in way less than a second, which is one or two orders of magnitude under what is currently available elsewhere.

CH: The plot takes a little getting used to.

Ambrose: But once you’re accustomed to it you’re seeing so much more – what the array is doing throughout the venue at all frequencies. And once you’ve got it into your head, it’s a case of ‘why would you want to look at anything else?’.

Alternatively, most software programs plot the output of a system in the air. You look at a plot, a section view, and it shows you colouring in the air above people’s heads. That’s computationally very wasteful. I mean, who cares what’s going on above people’s heads?

CH: Are you asking more of the user? Is a more accurate room model required to drive the MLA Compact?

Ambrose: There’s a minimum effort required. You need a reasonably accurate description of the room in 2D. The software was designed from the perspective of a touring user, so we’ve set very tight time limits on how long a process should take. Put it this way, it would surprise me if anyone would take more than 20 minutes to map out a room well enough for optimisation; plug in some defaults; optimise it; and get the results. That was the philosophy behind it: we can’t be faffing around with forensically accurate measurements.

Saying that, I think the system will especially reward those with very specific problems – something they really would like to avoid or enhance. I see that more as a consultant’s job. The consultant has more time to spend, and will be rewarded.

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model of the room geometry, you then help Display2.1 to distinguish between the stage, the ceiling, the audience and other no-go areas (like a balcony front). Display2.1 will give you the hang height and splay for the number of elements you have in the truck. All fairly normal thus far. Except in the way the software does its coverage plots. Called IndexPlot it shows a 2D slice through the venue, allowing you to see how loud the array is at all measuring positions and at all frequencies. It takes a little getting used to but once you’re accustomed, it’s a potent visualisation of the vertical domain.

From this point you can get your array in the air, whereby Martin’s VU-Net communication protocol (over Cat5) will send the onboard digital signal processors the optimised EQ settings (along with the other DSP parameters). The approach is arguably more deliberate than what most system engineers have at their disposal – i.e. tweak, tinker, measure, repeat – and takes advantage of the fact Display2.1 is addressing the system on a cellular level.

In fact, let’s not kid ourselves, that cellular level control is the game changer. You can have the most sophisticated software in the world but it’s not until you’re able to address every single driver individually does the ‘resolution’ of that tonal and SPL control increase exponentially. It’s like comparing a game of chequers to chess… after all, the biggest CPU in the world won’t make a game of chequers any more sophisticated.

EYEING OFF COMPACT

The large-format MLA has made a creditable international splash since its launch a few years ago. But without technical rider pressure from touring bands it wasn’t going to find much of a home in the crowded Australian rental market. The MLA Compact is a different kettle of fish. It’s a far more versatile beast with much broader appeal. A 12-box array will happily fill a 5000-seat venue, while a larger rig (up to 24) will take care of just about any festival gig Australia has to offer. Having heard the MLA Compact in action on a couple of occasions, there’s no doubting it’s a great-sounding, punchy system with great clarity and vocal reproduction – much like other high-quality competing medium-format systems from the likes of d&b, Adamson, EAW and others – but where Martin has stolen a march on its opposition is in control. The MLA Compact offers a superbly consistent performance across the entire audience area.

So who’s the MLA Compact for? Aspirational rental companies, willing to buy into MLA philosophy, will be rewarded with arguably the most technically advanced PA on the market today. The rental kit has everything you’ll need, including a road-ready tablet PC, rigging, dollies etc. Yes, there are companion subs as well. As for the price? Expect to pay much the same as the other ‘AAA’ rated mid-sized PA systems.

Installers will have access to the most ‘finesse-able’ system on the market. The system can be remotely controlled and with the tools that are on offer, and the level of modelling sophistication, system designers will be in hog’s heaven.

MLA Compact couldn’t have existed not that long ago. Fortunately with highly efficient/low weight amplification, lightweight switched mode PSUs, ever more sophisticated DSP talking to today’s grunty portable PCs, a ‘multi-cellular array’ like this is possible. Undeniably it is a step forward and there is no question that in coming years we’ll see other manufacturers doing something similar under a variety of other three-letter acronyms. But for the moment, when it comes to being ‘the thinking man’s PA’, Martin Audio is the only game in town.  CONTACT Technical Audio Group (02) 9519 0900 ar@tag.com.au www.tag.com.au

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062

NEWS

InfoComm News

News from the Oceania Region DEMAND FOR PRO AV ON THE RISE? Be the first to read the results of InfoComm International’s October 2012 Economic Snapshot Survey. The latest edition of this popular gauge of industry performance offers all-new insights including measurements of actual company health.

You’ll find additional analysis at the InfoComm All Voices blog: infocommblog.org/allvoices. To download a copy of the survey, please visit infocomm. org/marketresearch.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT AV SYSTEMS “The potential success of an AV project is directly related to the quality of the documentation and who is accountable for the results.” So begins a brand new guide to implementing ANSI/INFOCOMM 2M-2010, Standard Guide for Audiovisual Systems Design and Coordination Processes. Buy it today in the IHS or ANSI online stores.

SPEAK UP! Want to get involved with the AV industry, share your experience with colleagues and enhance your resume?

InfoComm is seeking experienced speakers for its 2013 Regional Roundtable and webinar series. Present on project management, sales, leadership skills, marketing, business development or any other topic you think would be of interest to your industry peers.

Contact InfoComm Regional Director Jonathan Seller at oceania@infocomm.org for more information.

NEXT INTERNATIONAL CEO ANNOUNCED The Board of Directors of InfoComm International has announced David Labuskes, CTS, RCDD, will become the next executive director/CEO of InfoComm International, effective January 1. He succeeds Randal Lemke who is retiring at the end of the year.

For more than 13 years Labuskes has served as vice president of RTKL, now a division of ARCADIS, one of the world’s leading architectural and engineering firms. He is the founder of the company’s technology design practice, overseeing the delivery of audiovisual, voice, data, wireless, environmental media, electronic security and acoustics services.

Responsible for the operational, financial and marketing of technical services globally, Labuskes has led projects in the corporate, government, commercial and healthcare spaces.

Prior to joining RTKL, Labuskes served as

president and CEO of Premier Technology services, a software and systems design consulting firm.

Previously he was executive vice president of Accelerated Payment Systems, an electronic payments processing firm. He holds a BA in International Politics and Business from Penn State University, and an MBA from Loyola University of Maryland.

“David Labuskes is a leading expert on the intersection of technology and the built environment,” says InfoComm International president Greg Jeffreys.

“He is the executive who can help chart the course for InfoComm and our industry when it comes to the future of networked AV, smart building technology and more. His commitment to creating excellent environments will help the industry continue the quest for quality experiences for end-customers.”

Labuskes has been a long-time volunteer with InfoComm, BICSI, the National Systems Contractor Association and TIA, offering guidance in industry training, best practices and credentialing. “As an integrator, I think David Labuskes is the ideal choice to share his unique insights on the future of AV in the built environment, and advise the integration community on the IT skills that our businesses will need to acquire,” Jim Ford, chairman of the InfoComm leadership development committee, says. “I believe he will be able to use his experience as an industry instructor to share practical advice that will benefit InfoComm’s heritage members – AV dealers and integrators.”

The executive search committee was committed to finding a candidate with practical business experience.

“As the president of a leading company in the live events space, it was very important to me that the next executive director and CEO of InfoComm International have a solid corporate background,” says Johanne Belanger, InfoComm secretary-treasurer. “InfoComm is a $40 million association and keeping the organisation in solid financial condition is of paramount importance if the group is to continue serving the industry with training, certification, networking opportunities and more. I believe David Labuskes will be an excellent steward of the association’s funds. As an MBA and a former CEO, he has the experience needed to keep InfoComm on solid financial ground.”

Labuskes will begin preliminary work at InfoComm on November 26, transitioning into the executive director/CEO position on January 1. “I am looking forward to becoming the leader of InfoComm

International and getting to know more about the concerns and aspirations of all segments of this great industry,” Labuskes says. “Whether you are an integrator, live events professional, manufacturer, programmer, technology manager or design consultant, I am eager to work alongside you, with InfoComm’s professional staff, to make this great association even better.”

Labuskes will be participating in Integrate 2013 being held August 27 to 29 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.

REMINDER: NEW MEMBERSHIP STRUCTURE InfoComm is changing the way we deliver member benefits in 2013. With a simplified membership structure, select online classes available to members at no charge and discounted in-person training, the decision to join has never been easier.

In the new year, four online classes will be available to members at no charge: Quick Start, Essentials of the AV Industry, AV Technologist Test, and a new CTS Prep Online course. Companies and organisations with memberships will be able to train an unlimited number of personnel through these programs at no additional charge. Affiliates can train one person.

In addition, members and affiliates will be eligible to receive discounted classroom training and certification, free InfoComm standards and select market research, along with free access to roundtables and trade shows around the world.

It is our hope that by lowering most members’ dues, narrowing down memberships to two categories (members and affiliates), and making member benefits available on an unlimited basis, more professionals will be able to take advantage of InfoComm training, certification and networking opportunities. For more information, please contact Jonathan Seller on (02) 8206 0979 or at oceania@infocomm.org Pricing: $500 member, $150 affiliates USE YOUR EDUBUCKS! As a result of the membership changes in 2013, the EduBucks program will expire on 31 December and all InfoComm members are encouraged to use their EduBucks before the end of the year. EduBucks can be used for online courses and education opportunities through InfoComm University. For more information on online courses and services associated with EduBucks, contact Jonathan Seller.

All The AV Industry Employment News Delivered to your IN box with AV Newswire Any time you want it at www.av.net.au

064

TUTORIAL

Roles in an AV Organisation Knowing who does what in AV This article is an excerpt from InfoComm University’s online course GEN101 Quickstart to the AV Industry. For anyone new to the AV industry or considering a career in AV Quick Start is an introduction to the various types of AV organisations, jobs and technologies. In addition to the content presented here some sections of the course include streaming videos and other interactive materials.

Quickstart is one of three online courses which will be available free to all InfoComm members and their employees from the beginning of 2013. For more information about InfoComm University courses visit infocomm.org/ education or contact Jonathan Seller at jseller@infocomm.org.

Individual Roles in an AV Organisation

Within your company or organisation people with very different internal roles must work together to get the job done. To help your AV team function as smoothly as possible, you need to understand the roles of the people you’ll be working with.

Marketing and Sales Roles

If your organisation is selling anything, including products, services, or expertise, then it employs marketing and sales professionals.

Marketing is the strategy of interesting your potential customers in what you have to offer. Marketing professionals design advertisements, logos, catalogues, and brochures. They also operate through customer visits, tradeshows, company websites, social networking, press releases, and newsletters.

Ask Your Peers

Which of these marketing strategies does your organisation use? How else does it seek to get your customers’ attention? When a customer expresses interest in a product or service, a sales professional steps in to help. There are three common sales roles in the AV industry.

Sales Role

Definition Sales are made when the customer comes to the AV company

Example Customers contact a sales representative by phone or email; customers walk into a shop

External sales (aka product or project sales representation)

Sales are made when the AV sales professional goes to the customer

Onsite consultations or demonstrations; long term service contracts

Account manager

Account managers handle all sales and serve as contacts to specific customers

Large customers with complex and/or long-term needs

Internal sales

Ask Your Peers

Which model of sales prevails in your organisation? Do you go to customers, or do customers come to you? How do you maintain contact with customers over the long term?

The Roles of Administrative Offices

Administrative offices in your organisation ensure that it operates smoothly.

They may include the following departments: Office

Duties

Human resources, payroll

Handle employee pay, insurance, benefits, and taxes, hiring new employees, promotion, and periodic performance review

Accounting, accounts receivable, accounts payable

Pay the organisation’s bills; invoice customers; may negotiate prices and payment terms and purchase products for the office

Shipping and receiving

Handle incoming merchandise and operational materials; manage the storeroom; ship products; load and unload trucks

Delivery

Transport products to and from customer sites

Depending on the size of your organisation, these roles may be filled by a few people, or several dozen.

Ask Your Peers

Who fulfils these roles in your organisation? What information will they need from you, and when? Understanding the administrative roles in your organisation is the key to ensuring you have access to the services and materials you need.

The Roles of Technical Professionals

Most of the people in an AV organisation are technical professionals, meaning that they have specialised knowledge and skills relating to the AV services the organisation provides. At an AV installer/integrator, you may expect to find several of the following technical roles: Role

Duties

Project Manager

Assess project budgets, timelines, and resources; oversee project progress; act as liaisons with allied trades and clients

AV Designer

Document customers’ communications requirements; design AV systems to meet those needs; document AV system designs

CAD/BIM Operator

Use software programs to create computer models or drawings of the AV system design showing how it fits into the building

Audio, Video and Lighting Technician

Perform contracted systems integrations or staging installations; operate equipment during live events

AV System Programmer

Write software code for control systems; configure software-based AV devices

Service Technician

Perform preventative maintenance; troubleshoot and repair systems in the shop or the field

Technical Trainer

Educate other technical professionals on best practices, new technologies, workplace safety, etc

An individual in an AV organisation may have several roles. For instance, a designer may be responsible for creating the computer models of their designs, or an audio technician may also write control programmes.

Ask Your Peers

Which of these roles are present in your organisation? What services do you partner with other organisations to provide? Make sure you can accurately tell customers what your organisation has to offer.

AV Industry Certification

You may notice that some professionals in your organisation have a CTS designation after their name. CTS stands for Certified Technology Specialist.

Based on international standards, InfoComm’s CTS programme is the only ANSI-accredited ISO/IEC 17024 credential in the AV industry.

Any member of an AV organisation can sit for the CTS exam to earn the credentials. Many AV professionals choose to achieve CTS because it is a way to showcase their commitment to quality, increase client confidence and strengthen their company’s competitive advantage.

In any career, professional development is the tool for continued success.

Industry training helps you stay on top of the latest trends and technologies.

Certification helps you earn the recognition you deserve.

Summary

You’ve just had a brief introduction to roles you can expect to find in your organisation. There are many variations on the roles described here. It is important to know the specific business functions which exist in your organisation because, directly or indirectly, you work with all of them.

You also learned about the professional certification offered by InfoComm International. Training and certification are among the best ways you can show your commitment to excellence.

Next Steps

Meet with the members of your department, or at least the people you’ll be working with most often. Learn what their roles are, and find out how you’ll be working together.

Talk to your supervisor or human resources department about pursuing industry certification. You may find that your company will support your training. 

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066

Termination Why Fi? Text:/ Graeme Hague

I’m blaming the garage door remote. Sure, we had some clunky, wired television remotes around the same time, but I’d say the garage door remote was the very first device designed to encourage us to stay on our arses and just press a button. Now it’s turned into a global, westernised-society obsession with remotely controlling everything. Pure evil is brewing.

A friend of mine is keen to embrace modern technology even though, well, let’s say he’s been on the planet longer than most of us and he struggles to come to grips with it. His latest plan is to create an audiovisual media centre for his house (he also wants to power his entire home from chicken droppings, air condition it by digging huge tunnels under his neighbour’s property and he’s building an electric car from discarded mobile phones... Yes, he’s that sort of chap). He wants to control this media centre from his iPad. So far, progress has been good, in part. He’s digitally converted and transferred his massive collection of CDs, vinyl records and cassettes onto a hard drive. Next he wants to rip his impressive library of DVDs onto another hard drive so he can instantly access them too.

When he asked me what would be the best way to back up and archive such a large database, I suggested burning it all onto DVDs and CDs. He didn’t get the joke. Frightening, right?

The iPad has been bought too, except no one knows quite how it works exactly.

DOWNLOAD IT, IT’S FREE!

The solution is always to phone yours truly, invite me over for a cup of tea and homemade biscuit, and pick my brains for a simple explanation of what is rarely a simple problem.

He tells me the internet is adamant that the entire world can be run remotely from an iPad. You just have to download something (on Windows XP, if you don’t mind – and, quote: “by the way, my internet browser seems to be running a little slow – I found this free program to fix it and things seem to have gotten worse...”). Again.

He’s a very nice fellow. So nice, in fact, it’s impossible to say the obvious – why are you bothering with all this high-tech stuff when you don’t have a clue how it works? I hate to discourage an enquiring mind but there’s a limit.

Things have recently gotten worse. With the media centre concept in mind my friend inadvertently wandered into a lion’s den – a retail electronics store – while his wife was checking curtains next door. He didn’t stand a chance, the poor bastard. I won’t say the name of this store other than to offer the hint that it rhymes with ‘Harvey Norman’. In casual pursuit of something that would record his favourite ABC and SBS telly shows and access the internet to display it on his television, he emerged with a name-brand hard disk recorder and Blu-ray player. You can image the conversation that must have taken place.

“Can it be connected to a network?” (My friend possesses a dangerous, small amount of knowledge and can sound quite competent.)

“Absolutely, sir.”

“Splendid, and will I be able to watch the internet on my television using this device?”

“Absolutely, sir.” The salesman smells blood.

It’s game over.

Technically the salesman was correct. The recorder does connect wirelessly to a home network for its programming information. And you can watch the internet on the TV, because the recorder includes a proprietary interface that gives you YouTube, ABC iView and Yahoo7...

And a couple of other obscure channels.

However, you certainly can’t browse the internet at will and there’s no way of viewing video files stored on a home PC acting as a server. Yes, it’s patched into the network but not in that kind of network way.

The recorder, by the way, isn’t in the least interested in swapping binary chitchat with the iPad. Even I found that slightly surprising in our present Apple-mad industry. This was all discovered about an hour after I’d received

the inevitable phone call and had spent that time getting things up and running, waiting for channel searches to complete, digging up network passwords... It’s never easy, even using the Easy Setup options. Thank goodness the digital TV stations looked crisper through the recorder, although I’m not sure how that happened (and wasn’t about to mention that anomaly), so the purchase wasn’t deemed a complete loss.

TOTAL CONTROL

Let’s be clinical about this. It’s not my friend’s fault. Everything he sees on the television or the internet, or hears on the radio convinces him – not unreasonably – that every appliance in existence is just a download away from being wirelessly connected and controlled by a touchscreen device. He’s spent a lifetime cleaning records with dodgy anti-static cloths, rewinding tangled cassettes with a biro and prising jammed VHS tapes out of recalcitrant video players. The 21st century is promising an end to all that, reducing everything to the tap of an iPad. His wife’s homemade biscuit recipe will be replaced with a touchscreen web browser on the kitchen wall, putting millions of secret biscuit mixes at her fingertips.

A perfect, remotely controlled world – if only he could figure out how it all works exactly.

The truly scary bit is that he’s not alone. This new technology is even being thrust upon a lot of people who don’t really want it – and people like me are being poisoned by litres of tea trying to help them. But here’s a question: how many electronic gadgets rely on a remote control to access all the functions, where the gadget itself doesn’t have all the buttons? And how long will it be before household electronics rely on an app and, more to the point, an Apple device to get all the features? You’ll have to own an iPad to turn your telly on.

See? Pure evil. 

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©2012 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks of QSC Audio Products, LLC in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. Q-Sys is a trademark of QSC Audio Products, LLC.