Welcome to SeptembertheIssueof
19 Executive Q&A CEO Manabu Aoki celebrates 60 years of Audio-Technica. 24 Helping the Hard of Hearing Sennheiser’s David Missall and others talk ADA standards. 32 The Fight to Get It Right Paul Harris from Aurora Multimedia explores AVoIP standards.2419 32 AV Solutions for Real World, Complex Environments We Make it Easy to Connect From Control Room to Mobile Force www.rgb.com/multidomain ® AVNETWORK.COM SEPTEMBER 2022 YOUR INSIDER BUSINESS RESOURCE FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS ILLUM INARIU M GETS IMMERSIVE WITH SONIC SOLUTIONS
4 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com Vol. 29 No. 9 September 2022 Systems Contractor News (ISSN 1078-4993) is published monthly by Future US, Inc., 130 West 42nd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10036-8002. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to: SYSTEMS CONTRACTOR NEWS, P.O. Box 1051, Lowell, MA 01853. Subscribe online at www.MySCNews.com. Please allow 6-8 weeks for address changes to take effect. ©Copyright 2022 by Future US, Inc. PRINTED IN U.S.A. CONTENTS People 18 Executive Q&A No, there will not be a name change for Covid, Inc., according to CEO Norm Carson. By Mark J. Pescatore 19 Executive Q&A Audio-Technica U.S. president and CEO Manabu Aoki continues to support the company’s 60-year philosophy. By Mark J. Pescatore 22 Beyond the Tech What are the consequences of cutting corners? By Douglas Kleeger Business 24 Helping the Hard of Hearing There’s more to assistive listening systems than simply complying with ADA standards. By Carolyn Heinze 26 Intercoms: A History of Distance How have production crew communications evolved? By Simon Browne Technology 30 Cloud Power How can the cloud help integrators deliver SaaS solutions for clients? By Dave Van Hoy 32 The Fight to Get It Right What makes the ultimate AV-over-IP standard? By Paul Harris 34 Blackmagic Design Delivers with HyperDeck Shuttle HD Good things come in very small packages. By Chuck Gloman 36 Affordable Upgrades for Podcast Production ATEN, Audio-Technica, and Shure product reviews. By Mark J. Pescatore Viewpoint 42 This Is How It Is Now Growing companies are the ones with creative solutions. By Joe Dunbar Departments 17 ASSOCIATION NEWS 20 NEWSMAKERS 38 PRODUCTS 24 36 28Tour Faraway Lands…in Atlanta Illuminarium Atlanta delivers an immersive, virtual experience for guests. By Wayne Cavadi
Rarely is there a one-size-fits-all solution for a user interface.
For some people, probably the same ones who prefer cauliflower crust, the new view may have been a welcome change. Maybe they don’t “chat” as much as we do in our company, or maybe they’ve never needed to start a Google Meet.
The point is that we all have our own personal preferences—and we’re all correct. Rarely is there a one-size-fits-all solution for a user interface. There has to be a consistent foundation, of course, but what sort of customization do you offer? From email to multiviewers to digital signage layouts, end users want what they want. Make sure you’ve got plenty of choices for them on the menu.
Gmail isn’t all bad; it doesn’t let me organize my way, but it does have some redeeming qualities. My favorite feature is its side column. In one small section of screen real estate, I have access to my various mailboxes and chats with fellow employ ees, and there’s even a section that lets me quickly start a Google Meet for videoconferencing.Untilitdidn’t.Notlongago,Gmail made a change. I opened my web browser and there it was, the “new Gmail view.” My chats had been moved to another small column, along with access to Google Meet. What a horrible, horrible idea. The new view took what is arguably the only good parts of the Gmail interface and made them more difficult to access.Thankfully, the damage wasn’t permanent. A quick visit to the settings cog in the upper right-hand corner of my screen provided me with the option to return to the “original Gmail view.”
I ’m very fortunate that my favorite pizza in the world is in Royal Palm Beach, FL, just a short drive from my home. For more than 20 years, Mario the Baker has been delighting me with its pepperoni pizza, whether fresh out of the oven or cold out of the fridge the next day. Now, I realize that some New Yorkers will take issue with my pizza choice. They are wrong. For you folks from Chicago, that whole deep-dish argument is a nonstarter. And anybody out there who wants to talk up cauliflower crust just needs to moveThealong.point here is that I love pizza from Mario the Baker. It’s the best. To me Which brings me to email. Here at Future, we are all about Google—and that means using Gmail as our email program. For those of you who don’t use it, Gmail is a pretty lousy, browser-based email interface. It is far too reliant on search as a workflow tool and has limited customization.Whenitcomes to email programs, Eudora still holds a special place in my heart. Of course, that program was popular back when AOL Instant Messenger was all the rage. These days, I tend to use Thunderbird for personal email, mostly because it has much of the same functionality as Eudora. Basically, Thunderbird lets me organize my inbox based on dates (I prefer to work with my newest emails at the bottom) or quickly reorganize my messages based on sender, which is helpful when you have far too many emails. (Microsoft Outlook offers similar flexibility.)
6 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com SYSTEMS CHECK ® SEPTEMBERavnetwork.com2022VOL.29 NO. 9 MARK J. PESCATORE Content Director TWITTER twitter.com/scnmag LINKEDIN systems-contractor-newslinkedin.com/company/ EMAIL mark.pescatore@futurenet.com FACEBOOK systemscontractorfacebook.com/ CONTENT VP/Content Creation Anthony Savona Content Director Mark J. Pescatore, Ph.D. mark.pescatore@futurenet.com Content Manager Wayne Cavadi Contributors Simon Browne, Joe Dunbar, Chuck Gloman, Jennifer Guhl, Paul Harris, Carolyn Heinze, Douglas Kleeger, Dave Van Hoy Group Art Director Nicole Cobban Art Editor Rob Crossland Production Managers Nicole Schilling, Heather Tatrow ADVERTISING SALES Vice President, AV/Consumer Electronics & Pro Audio Adam Goldstein, adam.goldstein@futurenet.com, 212-378-0465 Sales John Casey, john.casey@futurenet.com, 845-678-3839 Janis Crowley, janis.crowley@futurenet.com 845-414-6791 Debbie Rosenthal, debbie.rosenthal@futurenet.com, 212-378-0468 Zahra Majma, zahra.majma@futurenet.com 845-678-3752 Andi Tureson andi.tureson@futurenet.com SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE To subscribe, change your address, or check on your current account status, go to avnetwork.com and click on About Us, email futureplc@computerfulfillment. com, call 888-266-5828, or write P.O. Box 1051, Lowell, MA 01853. LICENSING/REPRINTS/PERMISSIONS SCN is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing team to discuss partnership opportunities. Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw licensing@futurenet.com MANAGEMENT Senior Vice President Group Elizabeth Deeming Vice President, Sales & Publishing, B2B Aaron Kern Vice President, B2B Tech Group Carmel King Vice President, Sales, B2B Tech Group Adam Goldstein Head of Production US & UK Mark Constance Head of Design Rodney Dive FUTURE US, INC. 130 West 42nd Street, 7th Floor New York, NY 10036
All contents ©2022 Future US, Inc. or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/or have the necessary rights/ permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions. Please Recycle. We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards.
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David Hallmark, Audio Visual TelecomManager,EngineeringCalCoast
Clear Clutter for Sports Bar
Along with the PoE+ switch, the integrator replaced the switchers with 16 Key Digital KDIP822ENC 4K UHD encoders and 16 KD-IP922DEC 4K UHD decoders, creating a managed gigabit network to enable matrix switched video distribution and signal extension. After encoding, signals are delivered through a single PoE Ethernet connection network switch for routing to the desired KD-IP922DEC dual LAN port decoder, each of which offers HDMI output, complementary control options, and analog audio outputs.Inaddition, the bar owner opted to implement Key Digital’s Compass Control Pro software, a simple plug-and-play solution for complete iPad control and signal management of the system, including Com pass Control compliant gear from a diverse and wide number of brands. “Murdy’s is able to connect any source to any output just by moving the icons on the iPad,” said Gonzalez. “That means audio and video can be easily reconfigured for any use of the venue, from regular nights to special occasions, such as connecting the DJ booth. In that way, Key Digital’s technology has a real economic impact. “We were able to do all of that with far less cabling, replacing it with single runs of Cat-6 in many cases, and reducing cable-run lengths, which improves the audio and video experience with a crisper picture and sharper sound. And the new infrastructure is ready for future expansion, such as the video wall the owner has under consideration. Just a few components from Key Digital made a huge and positive difference here.”
What are some of the major changes you’ve seen in conference room AV design with the hybridadoptionincreasedoftheworkplace?
8 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com NEWS Key Digital AVoIP Solutions
urdy’s started out as Murdock’s in 1998 in Corpus Christi, TX, and set out to become the go-to spot for watch ing every game on television. While the sports bar has since shortened its name, it has expanded its immersive atmosphere, now with 17 video displays. Its all-sports-everywhere atmosphere was recently enhanced further with a complete renovation by San Antonio-based integrator Absolute Communications and Network Solutions using Key Digital products andThetechnology.bar’solder, wiring-intensive matrix infra structure was replaced with a sleeker, more efficient hub based around Key Digital 4K UHD AV-over-IP encoders/decoders, a Linksys LGS352MPC 48-port managed network switch, and Key Digital’s Compass Control software on an iPad for complete and intuitive user management of every screen. “The bar’s existing AV infrastructure was 15 years old and looked like it,” said Abel Gonzalez, sales manager and project estimator for Absolute Commu nications. “It was quite a tangled mess of wires and cables, and one of the two existing matrix switchers had finally failed, so it was time for an upgrade.”
Extron Offers Expanded Guide to Video Wall System Design
From a design perspective, we have seen a simplification of the AV systems for the majority of our customers. What used to require expensive physical codecs is now designed around UC platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. In the past, videoconferencing was reserved for larger, more complex spaces. With the majority of workers currently being remote, videoconferencing is now a built-in feature in the majority of conference rooms. This allows for a more uniform user experi ence across all conference room types in an organization.
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T he third edition of Extron’s Videowall Systems Design Guide is now available for download from the company’s website. The comprehensive reference is for AV professionals tasked with creating high performance video wall systems. It includes in-depth coverage of essential topics such as space design, video wall processing features, display technology, system control, and cost of ownership.“Videowalls are just about everywhere, but some AV system designers may be unfamiliar with the many parameters they need to consider in order to successfully design and integrate these large display systems,” said Casey Hall, vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. “The new edition of our Videowall Systems Design Guide provides the distinct AV requirements and more examples of video wall designs to help jump start your projects.”TheVideowall Systems Design Guide covers basic concepts and is an easy read for complex topics such as room design, font scaling and readability, and production tips for unique video wall applications. It includes useful technical references and visual illustrations that communicate technical topics that are central to video wall systems. Several real-world designs provide examples of how the sources, processor, displays, and control system all come together to create a powerful visual tool for board rooms, simulation environments, command and control rooms, and more.
Hockey Sounds Better at Colorado’s Robson Arena
A new, high-quality sound system, anchored by LEA Professional Dante-enabled Con nect Series amplifiers, is helping the Colo rado College Tigers enhance audience enjoyment and engagement.ThenewEd Robson Arena at Colorado College is a 3,400-seat, multipurpose, innovative sports venue and the first on-campus hockey facility for the Colorado College Tigers in their 86-year history. With Colorado College management recognizing that today’s audio systems play a critical part in any stadium and arena event, LEA Professional Connect Series digital audio amplifiers were installed to ensure fans would have the best possible experience. To enhance audience enjoyment and engagement, many multiuse stadiums and arenas are now install ing high-quality, flexible sound systems that can give spectators a great experience—far beyond that of the harsh, voice-only PA systems of yesteryear. With quality sound objectives in mind, Colorado College brought in AV consultant AJP to design and integra tion firm C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual to install the Ed Robson Arena’s sound system. C.V. Lloyde recom mended using a set of Connect Series multi-channel digital audio amplifiers to play a critical role in the audioC.V.system.Lloyde has been providing Pro AV design, sales, and installation services for more than 150 years. With a deep-rooted philosophy that the actual installation must not compromise the quality of a professional system, C.V. Lloyde counts many universities, stadiums, houses of worship, school districts, and corporate facilities among its clients. “Good audio quality is a critical part of any sports and entertainment venue,” said Stephen Morris, president of C.V. Lloyde. “Audiences have gotten used to excellent sound quality from their home systems and theaters and clubs. To keep fans and audiences coming back, arenas need to put in the effort to improve sound and ensure that audiences and fans cannot just see but also hear everything going on. Colorado College was committed to this, and the results have been great.” C.V. Lloyde was responsible for the entire AV package, including being part of certain design changes, installation of the new arena exterior/ back-of-house sound systems, as well as suite and zone programming. At the heart of the new system is a set of five Dante-enabled, Connect Series digital audio amplifiers from LEA Professional. Specifically, two CS704D, two CS354D, and a single CS168D deliver a total of 24 audio channels. Ideally suited for medium-scale installations, the two, four, and eight-channel amplifiers feature direct Hi-Z (70V or 100V) or Lo-Z selectable by channel. “The arena’s audio system is all connected and controlled via a Dante audio network,” said Morris. “So having out-of-the-box, Dante-ready amplifiers powering the system made everything easy to connect and configure.”
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The Connect Series features cloud connectivity, providing integrators with remote control, monitor ing, notifications, and more from nearly any smart device. Unique within the industry, all LEA Profes sional amplifiers leverage the built-in Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT Core. The platform allows integra tors to monitor critical operational data points that are integral to maintaining system health remotely. The capability delivers greater visibility to provide preven tative maintenance, easier troubleshooting, and fewer on-site maintenance requirements. Since the arena’s opening in 2021, it has hosted games for several hockey leagues, and the arena’s open-skating hours—supported with music—have become very popular. The arena also features a multipurpose event room, small catering kitchen, and outdoor meeting patio space for use in the warmer months.“The Ed Robson Arena’s audio system has the sound quality to engage fans and deliver a great experience, and the system’s Dante flexibility allows it to be configured to meet the needs of most any event,” added Morris. “The quality, efficiency, and connectivity of the LEA Connect Series amplifiers play a central part in pulling the project together.”
NEWS
T allowood Baptist Church, in the Memorial City neighborhood of West Houston, has recently replaced an aging font-of-house mixing console with a Solid State Logic Live L350.
New Mixing Console Brings Clarity to Houston Church
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The 1,750-seat church hosts two different Sunday services with two different styles of music, Ortiz said. The first service is a traditional presenta tion with choir and orchestra that only requires a handful of microphones. “We mic the choir. And we have high-level musicians with high expectations who want it to sound just like it sounds coming out of their instruments,” he explained. “They still need to hear everything, so we have our podiums and extra mics and the piano mics being fed onto the stage.”The second service is contemporary, with drums and guitars. “Currently we’re feeding a personal monitoring system onstage for the band from the L350 via MADI,” Ortiz said. “And we’re feeding three in-ear systems.” Tallowood uses Dante to transport the lines from the stagebox to the L350 console, as well as to distribute the live stream, which is sent to other public areas of the building. The church acquired the L350 from LD Systems, which had installed the previous sound system when the church first moved to its purpose-built campus. According to Matt Rhodes, sales engineer, LD Systems, Ortiz and his sound team confirmed their purchase during a “test drive” at LD’s shop. “They were most impressed with the sonic quality,” Rhodes added. “The SSL mic pres are still the best on the market.Ortiz’sPeriod.”assistant, Allan Tiguila, handles most of the FOH mixing duties, and said he could not get the choir loud enough in the mix with the old console because of feedback and other issues. “Once I was able to put the SSL bus compressor on them,” he noted, “that was a game-changer. I was really impressed with that. It was one of the first times that I thought the choir was a bit too loud. I’d never had that.”
The installation was part of ongoing upgrades at the church that include construction of a new control room, new AV equipment, and wider implementa tion of its network infrastructure. When the choir and the musicians returned to the church after the initial COVID-19 lockdown, they all wore masks—and it sounded like it. “It was really hard to get intelligibility and clarity,” recalled Miguez Ortiz, Tallowood’s director of technology. The previous console was 12 years old, and Ortiz expected some improvement in sound quality with the new SSL console. “I didn’t think it was going to be that dramatic,” he admitted. “The choir was still wearing masks when we switched the console—and it sounded as if they had taken their masks off. We were so shocked.”
Miguel Ortiz, Tallowood Baptist’s director of technology, uses the L350 Console for two differently styled Sunday services.
Thanks to the Control4 system, the bowling alley virtually runs itself. Mizrahi said that staff don’t need to interact with the system on a regular basis because it has been programmed with scheduled automations for opening, closing, and daypart transitions that activate and tune the lighting, TV, music, and surveillance systems to specific settings. When they do need to make a change, staff can use a 10-inch Control4 touchpanel at the service counter or the Control4 mobile app to easily update automations or make one-time adjustments.
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The lighting is integrated with the Control4 system, so different zones can be programmed for different lighting colors or intensities and staff can easily make changes on-the-fly. It also enables custom lighting for parties or private events and can be adjusted by DJs through a Control4 keypad in the DJ booth that activates multiple lighting presets.
“The most visible special feature besides the lighting is the wall-to-wall dvLED display that’s mounted above the end of the bowling lanes, where there might traditionally be static images or neon signs,” Mizrahi added. “This display can be whatever the owners want it to be. During the daytime it might show traditional bowling and pin graphics, but it can also be split into five smaller ‘windows’ to show live DirecTV feeds, Apple TV programming, or any other video content they choose. And it’s all super easy to manage through the Control4 interface.”
The audio system is a main attraction as well, featuring more than 30 high-performing Triad in-ceiling speakers and subwoofers, plus five outdoor speakers. They are powered by a Triad 8-zone, 16-channel amplifier and routed through a Triad audio matrix switch, with connections to the DJ booth for DJ control. The various zones allow Strike 10 to blanket distinct areas with different music, or to adjust volume for each zone. There are also dozens of additional 4K TVs located throughout the interior, with content managed through Control4. A robust internet connection is required to ensure reliable operation of all the technology, as well as provide Wi-Fi for customers, so Miami Smart Homes installed Pakedge and Araknis components to deliver enterprise-grade performance and offer three distinct networks to separate traffic for customers, media streaming, and the establishment’s order system. A total of seven wireless access points deliver high-speed connections everywhere on the property, including the outdoor lounge area and the kitchen.
“They were also aware that bowling alleys have lots of liabilities due to it being a physical activity, so they wanted video recordings of the entire property in case of an accident,” Mizrahi said. “Therefore, we installed a surveillance system that combines 37 4K cameras, three Luma 16-channel 2 TB NVRs, and three extra Luma 8 TB hard drives to provide peace of mind. Additionally, there are two Control4 Chime doorbell video cameras that allow the owners to see who’s there even during off hours.”
Miami Smart Homes didn’t install the security system, but they did integrate it with Control4 to allow custom multi-system automations, such as bringing up the lights and silencing music when the fire alarm is triggered. All the core equipment is mounted in a Strong rack that’s protected by a WattBox 12 outlet UPS and 12 Circuit IP power conditioner that guarantees clean, consistent power and safe shutdown in case of a power outage. With Control4 from Snap One, Strike 10 can go from bowling alley to high-tech nightclub with the flip of a switch.
Snap One Simplifies AV Control for Florida Bowling Alley
T he new Strike 10 bowling alley in Boca Raton, FL, features a giant dvLED display, tunable color LED lighting, professional DJ booth, 37-camera surveillance system, 17 video zones, and eight audio zones. It is powered by a Control4 automation system that can activate everything at the push of a button, making Strike 10 equal parts bowling alley and high-tech nightclub.
From the bowling lanes to the billiards room to the bar, every space is designed to convey a chic, luxurious atmosphere. Lighting is a key component of the experience, with a Madrix LED lighting solution blanketing the interior with colored light that seems to emanate from everywhere—LED strip lights follow contoured ceiling decorations and provide backlight inside the bowling ball racks, custom hanging fixtures feature circular LED strips, and almost every available ceiling location includes recessed lighting.
The integrator was also asked to design two 2x2 video walls at the bar, but knowing that multiple display setups are more complex to operate and have bezel lines, Mizrahi convinced them to go with two 100-inch screens with a Metra component that divides each screen into four individually controlled segments. To simplify management, they also integrated a new driver from Control4 that enables multidisplay control from a single interface screen.
According to Albert Mizrahi, owner of Miami Smart Homes, the owners of Strike 10 initially contacted him to design a club-worthy audio system to match their trendy, energetic interiors, but ended up investing in a full slate of audio, video, and control technologies from Snap One.
“During the daytime, Strike 10 is a fairly normal bowling alley, but at night the tone shifts from familyfriendly fun to a nightclub-style party, complete with programmed light shows and DJ performances,” Mizrahi explained. “There’s so much technology inside, from the massive dvLED display to the Madrix LED lighting system, that we decided a professional control and automation system was the best way to simplify operations and maximize the entertainment capabili ties of all the connected solutions.”
NEWS
Joshua Rush
Dante Studio Puts Focus on Software Solutions
By Jennifer Guhl B uilding on its ability to connect and stream line, Audinate’s Dante Studio advances AV production capabilities while making it eas ier to automate workflows and provide professionalgrade tools to empower specialized video networks.
When it comes to Dante Studio offerings, Dante Video RX is just the beginning; Dante Video TX, a virtual transmitter, and Dante Video Viewer, a virtual monitor, are currently in development and could be released before the end of the year. Rush said Audinate recognizes the importance of software within the AV industry, and is putting a stronger focus on it with Dante Studio.
Dante Video RX can seamlessly run in the back ground for users while empowering HQ video streams anywhere on the network. “End users in vertical markets like corporate, education, and worship will be the first to benefit from Dante Studio,” said Rush. “Now they have a simple, attainable, and stable tool to complete their workflows and connect PC and AV domains—audio and video can seamlessly transport from PC tools like Zoom, VMix, and many others to the AV realm and the other way around.”
The first tool introduced as part of the newly created Dante Studio, Dante Video RX, enables Windows PCs to receive a video signal from any Dante AV-enabled source, making it the perfect complement for Dante AV hardware products, including encoders, decod ers, and cameras. Dante Video RX supports 1080p resolution (4K video is coming soon) and operates on standard 1 Gb Ethernet infrastructures. “Dante Studio was a natural progression of Audi nate’s vision to layer features and functionality onto connectivity and interoperability through software,” explained Joshua Rush, chief marketing officer with Audinate. “We saw that the PC was going to be playing an increasingly important role in the ecosystems of corporate, worship, education, and even production customers. And we knew we needed to bridge the divide between AV and PC beyond simply connecting devices— but instead with tools that facilitate frictionless workflow and provide advanced functionality. Dante Studio does exactly that, but it also serves as a platform for new tools that we can add to serve the emerging needs of new customers in new verticals.”
“The supply chain issue will only accelerate that movement as brands—Audinate being at the fore front—create software-based solutions that reside on standard silicon vs. specialized chipsets,” Rush added. “The industry should take note that we’re looking beyond transport to add software-enabled features and benefits and that we’re doing so according to the direction we’re getting from integrators and end users in the respective vertical markets we serve.”
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uilt as a hotel in 1865, the Haywood House in Jefferson, TX, has served as a grand hotel, local history museum, and personal resi dence. Today, the historic building is an upscale Euro-American restaurant and cocktail bar. Owners Teresa and Alan Ponder purchased Haywood House in 2020, and have been updating and renovating the building’s infrastructure, including the installation of a new facility-wide sound system from AtlasIED, featuring the company’s Strategically Hidden Speakers and Atmosphere audio control platform.
The Strategically Hidden Speaker Series incorporates a patented waveguide design that differs from other in-ceiling speaker systems. Only a shallow, 3-inch-wide acoustic lens and a micro trim ring are visible on the ceiling. The concealed enclosure is a two-way driver that provides smooth, full-range sound. To meet the acoustic needs of the low-ceiling dining loft, the VTI-TX team installed a set of low-profile, 4-inch FAP42T enclosures. The FAP42T series is ideal for high-intelligibility voice, music, and signal reproduction in commercial, industrial, and institutional applications. For sound coverage for the second-floor outdoor balcony, the team installed a set of SM42T-B two-way, all-weather enclosures.. For restaurant-wide audio signal distribution and control, the team installed AtlasIED’s Atmosphere signal processing platform. The platform’s modular ity, scalability, and versatility are ideally suited for multizone restaurants such as Haywood House, as well as churches, school campuses, and larger commercial environments. A mix of wall-mounted connectors, volume controls, and touchpanels installed throughout the restaurant make controlling each zone independently very easy.
“The system sounds absolutely fantastic and is so easy to use; it has exceeded our expectations. We now have high-quality, crisp, and easily customizable music in all zones,” said Colt Johnson, general manager, Haywood House. “And the Strategically Hidden Speakers are terrific. We—like our custom ers—are amazed that such excellent sound quality and coverage can be produced by speakers that we can’t even see.”
Speakers controlled by the AtlasIED Atmosphere platform bring dynamic audio to Haywood House.
Haywood House is a two-story brick building with highly detailed period furnishings and architectural elements throughout. The downstairs area features the main restaurant and a large bar area with an overlooking mezzanine that can accommodate additional diners. Upstairs areas include a cigar bar and private banquet room. The restaurant’s new sound system includes audio coverage split into four zones for all indoor spaces as well as the outdoor balcony and porch areas on two sides of the building. Michael Chism, account manager at Visual Techniques (VTI-TX), was the point person for the sound system project. Based in Longview, TX, VTI-TX is an AV systems integration firm that has been an AtlasIED reseller and installer for more than 15 years. Chism said the charming, historic nature of the building presented unique sound system challenges. First, any installed speaker system had to be as discreet as possible and not detract from the restau rant’s classic ambiance. Haywood House also required high-quality sound for each space, with easy control to accommodate different guest events, often at different volumes with different web streaming or Bluetooth-connected content, so flexibility was vital. “This was a fun project because we were helping bring a very historic building into the 21st century,” said Chism. “The aesthetics had to be just right, the sound quality had to be excellent, and because it’s a fairly small staff for a facility of this scope, the system had to be easy and efficient to use. The AtlasIED Strategically Hidden Speakers and their Atmosphere control system were perfect for thisTheproject.”restaurant’s cigar bar features an elegantly ornate, tiled ceiling that needed to be preserved. It’s an elegant 1860s-style space, so hanging or wall mounting speakers within the room was not an option. Doug Hall, director of technology at Mizzen Marketing, assisted the VTI-TX team with AtlasIEDexplained.astilesthewithsystemdesign,recommendations,productsystemandsetup.“Theneededtoblendtheenvironment,andarchitecturalceilingweretobedisturbedlittleaspossible,”he“AsetofSHS-6T2
Strategically Hidden Speakers were specified and installed. After the sound lenses were color-matched, they disappeared within the room, and the depth of sound for such a small speaker is very impressive.”
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Hidden Speakers, Flexible Controls Help Transform Historic Home into Restaurant
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NEWS
Alcons Audio Adds Elegance to Historic Bar T ucked away in the small city of Carmel-bythe-Sea on the Californian coast, Barmel is a historic bar and music venue with an ambi ence based on the authenticity of old-time saloons, the warmth and elegance of 1940s San Francisco, and the bohemian style of Carmel’s renowned artistic community. Recently, an Alcons Audio proribbon system has added an extra touch of class to Barmel’s live music evenings. Originally opened in the 1890s, the bar’s unique identity is maintained by the personal touches of owner Gabe Georis and his family’s musical roots. With development in Carmel tightly controlled to maintain its character and environment, Barmel is the city’s only bar with a performance stage and PA, ensuring that thrice-weekly acoustic performances attract audiences from a wide area. When Georis set out to find a new sound system, he wanted the very best sound for a small venue that attracts a lot of people. “We wanted a system which sounded musical, transparent, and very pleasant to listen to, so we auditioned systems from many different manufacturers,” he said. “We chose an Alcons pro-ribbon solution for several reasons. One was that David Rahn of Alcons Audio USA brought a system to us, so we could hear it in our room.“This was a big factor in feeling we were going to get a system that worked in our space. But a bigger reason was the sound quality, especially the high end. The Alcons sounded more open, airy, and clear in the high frequencies without feeling harsh at all. The lower frequencies were as good as anything else we listenedBarmelto.”chose a system comprising two VR12 two-way 12-inch mid-size versatile monitors, featuring the patented RBN601 pro-ribbon driver, and two BF151 15-inch compact subwoofers, all flown from the bar’s ceiling. The VR12 is ideal for applications where high-output, high-quality sound reinforcement is needed, with the subwoofers delivering tight, accurate bass response. Georis is very happy with the Alcons pro-ribbon solution, as well as appreciating Rahn’s help with the final placement and system tuning. As the bar’s owner, he listens to it every day and reports that artists and audiences alike are very pleased with it.
Optimize Your Hybrid Meetings Pescatore hosted the panel with Sharath Abraham, digital workplace consultant at Accenture, Thomas Berry, CEO of Verrex, and Vanessa Jensen, market development at Shure. The four took attendees around the world of hybrid meetings and many of the challenges that are being met. As Jensen noted, AI and machine learning technologies are moving quickly with capabilities that drown out unwanted sounds, and there are now aesthetically pleasing solutions—ceiling mics and speakers for example—which don’t even require a desktop for setup. The huddle room was the place to be prior to the pandemic. That really hasn’t changed, according to Berry, but it has been reimagined. Every huddle room now has a display, speaker, and microphone. While the goal of the huddle room remains the same, the technology will continue to evolve. Abraham added perhaps the most important takeaway from this session: It is imperative to create a technology cheat sheet and train employees to get the most out of huddle rooms.
Citi Field Digital Experience Davis hosted Kirk Kessler, sales manager of live events for Samsung Electronics, J.P. Pollard, head of live events, entertainment, sports, and spectacu lars at Samsung Electronics, and Oscar Fernan dez, vice president, technology solutions for the New York Mets, as attendees for this panel learned all about the technological advances at CitiTheField.takeaway?
Citi Field is awesome. Not only is the stadium and field a sight to see, but the technology is arguably setting the standard for MLB stadiums across the land. As Kessler said, the Samsung and Mets partnership was a shared vision, and they are achieving a common goal to enhance the fan experience while keeping the focus on the game (not obtrusive technology). There are already five levels of LED ribbons and hundreds of displays installed, but it is just the beginning. Most recently, the Jackie Robinson Rotunda was updated with displays that feature the lineup and a ribbon that provides stats of the starting pitcher. The displays themselves are also a gateway of communication. They communicate content or game moments, menus, or directions to a store or attrac tion within the stadium. One of the end goals is to have personal devices be able to be used in conjunc tion with the system. The Future of Pro AV Pescatore led the final panel of the day, and was joined by John Garmendi, senior manager consultant program development/strategic business develop ment manager at Sony, Steve Greenblatt, president and founder of Control Concepts, Paul Harris, chief executive and technology officer at Aurora Multime dia, Ken Kalish, sales director, key accounts at Absen, and Julian Phillips, senior vice president and manag ing director of XTG at AVI-SPL.
Videoconferencing and Collaboration for IT Directors To discuss some of the challenges that face IT during the return to the workplace, Davis was joined by Bill Bennett, media solutions and account manager at ENCO, John Mitton, CP of the AV group at Red Thread Spaces, Jenn Steinhardt, associate AV designer at Shen Milsom & Wilke (SM & W), and Aaron Weiler, senior enterprise engineer at Comcast Business.
AV/IT Summit Addresses Industry Challenges
While Phillips said that the cloud is imperative to moving forward, he also harped on a common theme: There has never been a better time to be creative in Pro AV. The pandemic forced the industry to throw out the rulebook, and those in the industry have a chance to move forward even more quickly than ever before.Some suggestions provided by this expert panel were not only building products and solutions with built-in intelligibility, but that are interoperable from manufacturer to manufacturer. While communica tions have been unified with COVID-19, perhaps the products installed can be as well. Perhaps one of the most interesting suggestions was to focus on employee behaviors as well as the technologies being used.
C iti Field, home of the New York Mets in Flushing, NY, is amid one of the most extensive technological upgrades in all MLB, an upgrade that will continue to evolve throughout the season and into next. It was an ideal backdrop for the 2022 AV/IT Summit, which was held Aug. 3. Some of the Pro AV and IT industry’s most knowledgeable sources joined AV Technology’s Cindy Davis and SCN’s Mark J. Pescatore during five conference sessions, which explored where AV and IT are headed—and some of the challenges profes sionals will have to face to get there.
Keynote speaker Ashley “AJ” Jones, director of membership sales and services for the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), started the event with a look at the rise of esports. What was once a club sport on the NAIA on Division II and III levels has transformed to a varsity sport connecting universities throughout the nation. The takeaway? More Division I schools are joining the party. Accessibility makes it easier to watch your favorite team play your favorite game, but keeping up with the evolution is a must. Mobile gaming is growing, and high-level varsity programs are beginning to create additional opportunities with the programs outside of competition, which means it’s time to keep these “arenas” up to date with the latest technologies.
The pressure is on IT directors to answer ques tions that may not have clear answers yet. Companies have to have a purposeful plan and strategy to get people back to the office—and the IT challenge is making that strategy compelling, or “sexy,” as Weiler said. Expectations are higher than ever, and the employee expects that when they walk into a room, it should function as easily as it does at home.
Inset, top: AVI-SPL’s Julian Phillips said there has never been a better time to be creative in Pro AV during a panel discussion at the AV/IT Summit. Inset, bottom: Oscar Fernandez, vice president of technology solutions for the New York Mets, talked about the ballpark’s recent Samsung AV upgrades.
By Wayne Cavadi
16 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com NEWS
Mixed Economic Signals but Strong Pro AV Growth
17avnetwork.com // September 2022 // SCN NEWS
Multi-Domain AV Solutions ™ for Mission-Critical Data We’ve Got You Covered THE DESKTOPTHE WALL THE www.rgb.com/multidomainPHONE
“Comments from our survey respondents indicate that the barriers to faster growth remain on the supply side, with a lack of available skilled workers and especially long lead times on certain products slowing project work,” said Peter Hansen, economist, AVIXA. “Demand appears to have come down since the initial, return-to-in-person driven burst in spring, but it remains beyond what most companies can meet with their current staffing and product access.”U.S.second-quarter GDP numbers came out in late July, revealing a second consecutive quarter of contraction. Sometimes, two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction are offered as a technical definition of recession. But are we in one? The answer is an easy no. Yes, GDP sends a negative signal. But a broader look at economic signals shows tremendous strength and growth. One indicator we track in our index reports is U.S. payroll expansion. Even before the remarkable job growth observed in July (more on that later), the economy had added some 2.8 million jobs in the first two quarters of 2022. If that’s a recession, we should have more of them! Further evidence for why the “two consecutive quarters of contraction” definition is weak: By that definition, COVID-19 didn’t cause a recession. U.S. economic activity peaked at roughly the end of February 2020 and bottomed out near the end of April 2020. Only two months of contraction. But that was undoubtedly a recession, as the economy suffered its worse GDP reduction since World War II. In sum, while GDP signals the economy has weakened so far this year, an overall look reveals considerable economic health. A recession may come, but it is not here yet. Like the AVI-S, the AV Employment Index (AVI-E) showed good expansion in July, though again at a slower pace than in June. The AVI-E measured 60.1, down 2.9 points from its June mark of 63.0. As we noted in June, the AVI-E typically is closer to the no-net change mark of 50 than the AVI-S, since payrolls are steadier than sales. In that context, it’s unsurprising to see the AVI-E decelerate more than the AVI-S did. Over the coming months, we expect to see the AVI-E fall further below the AVI-S, aligning closer to historical norms. The U.S. July jobs numbers came in remarkably strong. Payrolls added 528,000 jobs, more than doubling expectations of 258,000. Unemploy ment has reached its February 2020 level at 3.5%, the lowest level since 1969. Visit www.avixa.org/AVindex to access the free monthly Pro AV Business Index reports and learn more about the methodology. For more information about joining the AVIXA Insights Community, visit www. avixa.org/AVIP.
In AVIXA’s latest Pro AV Business Index, July marked another solid month for the Pro AV industry, as the AV Sales Index (AVI-S) measured 61.4. This is a slight deceleration from the June mark of 63.3, but it remains well above the no-net change mark of 50. For historical context, numbers near 60 were common in the years leading up to the pandemic.
: Where do you see the Pro AV industry heading? NC: We’re seeing strong growth and activity at least through the rest of this year. In our sector, we see the demand for 4K products booming, which has been driving increased sales for both our HDBaseT
: You’re known for your custom wall plates. How easy is it to create a custom wall plate (or several dozen) for a project?
NC: We wouldn’t be anywhere without our customers, so our main focus is thanking everyone that has been part of our long history. We’re looking forward to continuing to serve them in the best way possible for the next 40 years and beyond.
: How is Covid, Inc. celebrating its 40th anniversary?
: How long have you been with this company, and what are your responsibilities?
Norm Carson: I’ve been the CEO of Covid for 24 years. I spend the majority of my time working alongside my team in order to build a great company culture and ensure we’re hitting our goals. I also enjoy focusing my energy on connecting with customers, whether at trade shows or personal onsite visits, so I can hear about the projects they’re working on and what their needs are in order to ensure they’re successful and profitable.
Ovetime: I’m working my away around the United States with the goal of seeing every baseball stadium with my wife and two kids, I’m still proud of what the name represents, the trust in our products and customer service, and the 40 years that we’ve been in business. Inc.
18 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com PEOPLE EXECUTIVE Q&A
: How has your background prepared you for your role?
NC: One initiative that we are working on as a company in the coming year is employee training, not only on our products, but also on the industry. We want to deliver stronger resources to our customers, and to do that, our goal is to have all our sales support and technical teams obtain their CTS certification over the next year.
NC: Custom wall plates have been a large part of our success at Covid. We have a full machine shop, which is where we make just about any custom panel a customer might require, and we have thousands of stock plates. Using our intuitive cloud-based Panel Spec design software, customers can literally design a plate, get a quote, and place an order within minutes. They can choose from numerous sizes and hundreds of connectors in a variety of colors. In addition, designs can be saved and edited, stored with other designs in customer-defined projects, and shared with others. Plus, our engineering team is always available to assist customers with more complex designs or answer any questions.
NC: Hands down HDMI in every sector of our product offering, followed closely by USB.
Norm Carson Position: President Company: Covid, Inc.
: I really don’t want to ask this, but about that name…? NC: Obviously, our company name has brought a lot of attention and questions, mostly from those outside the industry. We’ve experienced everything from people asking us if we’re a test site to people looking for assistance or wanting to take pictures of our building. Of course, we’ve considered changing our name in the last two years, and even asked our dealers for their input. Despite the current situation, it has led to some positive rapport and new opportunities with new and existing customers, many of whom have been with us since the beginning. Based on their feedback, we’re sticking with our name. I’m still proud of what the name represents, the trust in our products and customer service, and the 40 years that we’ve been in business.
No Name Change for Covid,
: How can systems contractors better position themselves to profit from products and/or services you have to offer? NC: Our goal at Covid, Inc. is to help systems integrators conquer the challenges they face, while performing both routine and complex installations. This approach is taken from the products that we offer to the services that we provide. One of our most popular services is our ONE SKU program, which allows customers to create their own customized package of products that are identified by a unique part number of the customer’s choosing. Customers can then order using that unique part number and receive the items in a single package. This ensures a more efficient and cost-effective ordering and project management process.
: What new initiatives are we likely to see from your company?
: Based on the inventory you move, what’s more popular for Pro AV: HDMI or DisplayPort?
By Mark J. Pescatore
NC: I’ve been in the industry for 30 years and lucky enough to have worked on both the dealer/system integrator side and the manufacturing side. I believe that experience provided me with a very extensive view of the industry. I was able to glean an in-depth understanding of the challenges that our dealers face, and I love working with them to solve those problems.
CEO Aoki Reinforces 60-Year Philosophy for Audio-Technica By Mark J. Pescatore
There will always be a place for gearheads who love their large setups, but the industry must address the users who need simple, precise, system-agnostic solutions.
: What are the short and long-term goals for your company? MA: One of the joys of being part of Audio-Technica is the company’s inclusive philosophy. We value high-fidelity audio and the tools that create it, and we believe it should be accessible to everyone at a reasonable price. So, the short and long-term goals are largely the same: Continue to engineer market-driven solutions and get them into the hands of as many people as possible—to provide quality audio for all. I oversee multiple market segments, but we can look at commercial audio as an example. Recently, we introduced the ATND1061 beamforming ceiling array microphone, which brings a new level of performance at a more accessible price point. In addition, our strategic technology partnerships, such as QSC, Crestron, Symetrix and others, successfully integrate product control/communication.
Manabu Aoki
Quality Audio for All
19avnetwork.com // September 2022 // SCN EXECUTIVE Q&A PEOPLE
: How is Audio-Technica celebrating its 60th anniversary?
: How has your background prepared you for your role? MA: Before I joined Audio-Technica Corporation in Japan, I served as president and CEO of JVC Professional Europe and vice president of JVC Europe, headquartered in London. Similar to A-T, JVC is a Japan-based corporation with multiple operations globally, so the corporate infrastructure and distribution models are similar, as are the market sectors. And working at A-T Corporation, I regularly interfaced with the previous U.S. CEO, Phil Cajka. So, I came to my new position at ATUS with a keen understanding of how things should function.
: Where do you see the Pro AV industry heading? MA: I think we are seeing a new trend in which solutions are still very complex, but also very easy to use. You might call it a “user-friendly” or “intuitive” trend—more manufacturers are developing products as no-nonsense solutions rather than dreaming up complicated components. Consumers, in general, don’t want a convoluted setup of gadgets—they want single-source products that serve a function and don’t cause headaches. They want things to just work and for operation to be intuitive. There will always be a place for gearheads who love their large setups, but the industry must address the users who need simple, precise, system-agnostic solutions. In addition, we have all seen the advancements of video technology with 8K definition etc. However, audio needs to make similar advancements in order to keep pace. Immersive audio, network audio and integrated software will be key for the A/V industry growth.
Position: President and CEO Company: AudioTechnica U.S. Ovetime: Other than my passion for listening to music, I like to be outdoors. Whether it is a leisurely bike ride, time on the golf course, or a nature hike, being outdoors is one of my favorite activities.
MA: We are holding a series of global celebrations focused on our analog heritage. This includes a series of listening events that pay homage to those our founder, Hideo Matsushita, staged during his tenure at the Bridgestone Museum of Art in Tokyo. The positive response to his LP listening concerts inspired Matsushita-san to start Audio-Technica. With his design of our first product—the AT-1 phono cartridge—he started to realize his dream of providing high-quality audio for everyone. So, we are marking our 60 years as a company with events that honor and celebrate that analog legacy. As we celebrate, we acknowledge the tremendous efforts of dedicated employees, as well as our strong relationships with commercial audio professionals, dealers and retailers, and, most importantly, our passionate fan/customer base that continues to inspire us to create the best possible listening experiences.
: Are USB mics strictly for podcasts, or have you seen a bump in sales with the increased use of videoconferencing?
: How long have you been with this company, and what are your responsibilities? Manabu Aoki: I have been with Audio-Technica for more than eight years. I currently serve in multiple roles. I am a director with Audio-Technica Corporation in Japan, as well as president and CEO of Audio-Technica U.S. (ATUS). In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of ATUS, I also oversee A-T Canada and A-T Latin America, implementing our strategic vision for all groups.
: Admittedly this often comes down to personal preference, and you sell both, but for Pro AV professionals, what’s the better choice: earbuds or over-ear headphones? MA: In many cases, this will come down to application. In-ear headphones not only give you a more intimate audio experience, but they’re also lower profile, which can make them more appropriate for videoconferencing applications. Over-ear headphones often function better in busy work environments: They’re easy to take on and off, hang on a hook at your desk, stash in a drawer, etc. You can also get models, such as communication or gaming headsets that have an integrated boom microphone, which many find useful. In-ear headphones are probably more convenient on the go, but over-ear headphones are the right solution for many settings.
MA: USB mics offer plug-and-play functionality, which is always a bonus when it comes to audio. We have definitely seen widespread adoption of USB in commercial audio, generally, and the rise of videoconferencing in the pandemic era has certainly played a big role in that. I see no reason for this trend not to continue. Again, this is an example of consumers wanting products that just work, without requiring extra steps or other components. And if you design a great microphone, even if it’s intended for podcasting or conferencing, it can transcend that market sector and be adopted for many additional applications.
: What’s the most prominent mistake you see in terms of using mics, and what advice would you like to share to correct it? MA: Our engineers will tell you that microphone placement is the primary variable that determines how well an audio source is captured. Understanding things like a microphone’s polar pattern can go a long way to getting the desired result. Some users may get frustrated and believe all this is over their heads, but Audio-Technica offers many helpful tools, such as tutorials on our YouTube channel, which cover the basics.
KEY DIGITAL has appointed AV industry sales veteran ROBERT TAYLOR to the position of director of distribution channel sales. In his new position, Taylor will be responsible for leading and growing Key Digital’s distribution business, both domestically and abroad. Previously, Taylor held sales positions with manufac turers BIAMP Systems and TOA Electronics, served as regional manager for manufacturer’s rep firm Southeastern Communications (SECOM), and ran his own design/installation firm, Audio Concepts. In a case of unfinished business, VEL JOHNSON has come out of retirement and reappointed by KINLY as its managing director for the United States. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Johnson held senior leadership positions in some of the world’s leading technology companies. He returns after originally relinquishing the position in December 2021. Nicknamed “The Coach” by his colleagues, Johnson will now develop and execute a more business and culturally aligned go-to-market strategy to mirror that deployed in Kinly’s other global markets.
QSC Announces Pro LeadershipAudio
VUWALL has promoted ANNA KOZEL to vice president of marketing and FADHL ALBAYATY to vice president of product management. Kozel, who joined VuWall as director of marketing in 2019, will oversee the company’s global marketing efforts. Al-Bavaty joined the company as director of product management in 2021, and will now oversee product strategy for the entire life cycle of all the solutions in the company’s ecosystem.
Paul WayneWeiserChilds
DAVID ANGRESS has joined QSC as senior vice president and general manager of the company’s new Pro Audio division. A veteran of the music and pro audio products industry, he has held senior executive leader ship roles at ADAM Audio GmbH, Guitar Center, Harman, and AKG. As principal at Angress Consulting for the last 12 years, he has devel oped business relationships for clients throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.The rest of the leadership team of the new Pro Audio division of QSC is also in place, including PERRY CELIA as vice president of global sales and service, DAVID FULLER as vice president of product development, RAY VAN STRATEN as vice president of brand, marketing and training, and LINDA LEE as senior director of operations.Celiahasbeen with QSC for more than 14 years, most recently as senior director of sales, Americas. Fuller’s 12-year tenure at QSC has included leadership roles such as senior director or international sales as well as senior director of enterainment product strategy. A 20-year QSC veteran, Van Straten has led the company’s retail sales, marketing, training, and brand functions, as well as previously serving as vice president of its live sound business unit. Lee rejoins QSC with 23 years of progressive growth in key operations and supply chain roles, most recently as senior director of global supply chain and operations at Identiv. Along with the formation of the QSC Pro Audio division, which maintains the QSC band name, the company’s AV/IT business will operate independently as the Q-SYS division. Angress will oversee the Pro Audio division working from the company’s headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA, as well as from his remote office in Portland, OR. David Angress From left, Perry Celia, Linda Lee, David Fuller, Ray Van Straten
Industry veteran LESLIE MOYNI HAN has joined BRIGHTLINE as a lighting designer/CAD specialist. She has an extensive background in lighting design for theater, television, dance, live music, and venue grand openings. In her new role at Brightline, Moynihan is charged with developing custom lighting solutions for clients and partners, as well as lighting templates to support specifications for virtual design. Moynihan will also support projects with field installation work. BRIAN GRAHN has been named CLEAR-COM’s regional sales manager for the U.S. Southwest region, where the company is seeing strong growth and increasing demand for its voice communications solutions. Grahn will oversee sales activity in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Southern California, and Southern Nevada, with a focus on supporting Clear-Com’s strong partner network in the region. Most recently, Grahn was the sales and marketing manager at TC Furlong, a long-time Clear-Com partner.
20 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com PEOPLE NEWSMAKERS
RGB Spectrum has added JEFFREY WILSON as a new regional sales manager. Respon sible for the western region, his territory includes Alaska, Arizona, western Canada, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and the Pacific Northwest. Wilson is an industry veteran with more than 25 years in audio and video, IT, and visual communications as a strategic technol ogy sales leader.
Robert Taylor Vel FadhlAnnaJeffreyJohnsonWilsonKozelandAl-Bayaty
PAUL WEISER, who currently leads field-based marketing activities at ADVANCED SYS TEMS GROUP (ASG) has been appointed to spearhead sales in the Southwest region. In his new role, Weiser will drive sales strategy, oversee personnel, and meet regularly with customers and business partners. Previously, Weiser has led sales teams for a number of technology firms, including Vitec Group’s Production Services Division, AJA Video, Autodesk, Apple, Avid Technology, and ChyronHego.
HALL TECHNOLOGIES has announced a strategic focus to provide support to the consult ants, architects, and design engineering firms who specify Hall products. To that end, WAYNE CHILDS has been named to the newly created role of consultant liaison. With more than 10 years of experience at Hall, and more than 20 years in the AV industry, the highly tenured territory manager brings expertise in total system design, project management, and relationship building to the role.
Leslie Moynihan Brian Grahn Jon Litt
Team
Control room expert JON LITT has joined G&D NORTH AMERICA as its new managing director. With his many years of profes sional experience in the fields of business development and sales, Litt will lead the development, coordination, and implementation of strategic business plans to drive the German KVM manufac turer’s U.S. subsidiary. A long-time resident of Houston, Litt will continue to be based in the area.
© 2022 DVIGear, Inc. sales@dvigear.com | (888) 463-9927 | www.displaynet.com Powered by ZERO COMPROMISE – INFINITE POSSIBILITIES The Future of AV Distribution is Here The DisplayNet ® DN-300 delivers an unprecedented level of AVoIP performance, versatility and reliability; at a price point that defines a new industry benchmark for value. Based on the latest SDVoE technology, the DN-300 provides 4K/60 (4:4:4) video distribution with limitless scalability, zero-frame latency and zero image artifacts. This single unit offers several unique features that provide system designers with exceptional versatility: Switchable Transmitter / Receiver operation PoE+ support Dual (copper / fiber) network interfaces Silent, fanless operation Auxiliary H.264/5 video output streams Versatile KVM Routing Powerful network security features Full-bandwidth USB 2.0 support DisplayNet also provides software-defined MultiViewer and Advanced Video Wall engines that power a wide range of applications without the expense and complexity of ancillary products. A highly intuitive web-based UI and API greatly simplifies setup and installation, as well as integration into third-party control systems. Contact us today to see how DisplayNet can move your next AV system into the future. DN-300
What If? The issue here is that no one will ever know “what if,” and that is the problem with making decisions that often rub others the wrong way. They don’t err on the side of caution and are willing to take risks that they, not being engineers, should not even have the authority to make. One personal example was a project for an elite private school. As the engineer, I designed an AV system for a gymnasium that included a rolling cart, motorized screen mounted on the wall, pendant loudspeakers, and a large projector. Due to the screen size, the projector would be suspended between two steel structural beams almost 12 feet apart. I came up with a mounting solution using two steel pipes, which would be fastened to the beams with clamps. The projector would then be suspended from the piping. I knew we could do this, so the next questions concerned the type and size of the pipes. Children’s lives were at stake here, so I called an old college buddy, who had earned a degree in structural engi neering, and had him do the calculations for me. It turned out that we needed Sch40 pipe, 2-inch in diameter. I put the dimensions on my drawings and sent it to the contractor who was going to do the installation. He sent back a quote using 1.5-inch Sch40 pipe. I gave him a call and told him that this was not a guess—I did the engineering, and with standard safety protocols, it had to be 2-inch pipe. He basically said I didn’t know jack and he was going to put in what he had on his truck. Then he added a couple of expletives and hung up on me. At the time, I worked for one of the largest integrators in the United States, and their exposure in the event of an accident would, of course, be huge. There was also the possibility of injury or worse, and I You Cut Corners?
For me, I take pride in knowing I have fought this fight over and over. Is it possible that I may have saved lives by being a stubborn engineer? I don’t know—but I do know right from wrong, and that’s how I live my life. How do you live yours? Doug Kleeger, CTS-D, DMC-E/S, XTP-E, KCD, is the founder of AudioVisual Consulting Services. Contact him with questions or comments at doug@avcs.us.
Do
Apparently, there was a last-minute teleconfer ence between the Morton Thiokol engineers who manufactured the booster rockets and the Marshall Space Flight Center. At first, the engineers recom mended not to launch due to freezing temperatures. Then, there was an offline discussion; when they came back on, they had changed their minds and agreed to the Therelaunch.was a Presidential Commission to investi gate the accident, and the Rogers Commission Report concluded that NASA accepted the risk of O-ring erosion without evaluating how it could potentially affect the safety of the mission. The commission also found the safety culture and management structure at NASA were insufficient to properly report, analyze, and prevent flight issues, while the pressure to increase the rate of flights negatively affected the amount of training, quality control, and repair work that was available for each mission. More frequently than we would like to admit in our industry, our work puts people’s lives at risk. And we are accountable. While not as high profile, I have been in situations where my safety and engineering recommendations were discounted, and I had to fight for what I believed was right.
By Douglas Kleeger I recently watched a documentary with my kids on the space shuttle disaster of January 1986. It discussed the events leading up to the failure of “O” rings due to the cold weather and hot gases leaking, which caused the explosion.
A large projector had to be suspended between these structural beams, but I faced resistance to use the proper pipes.
So, what do you do? Not every situation will play out as drastically as the shuttle disaster, but I say err on the side of caution when lives are at stake. Stand your ground, and never be a part of something you do not believe in.
Err on the Side of Caution When Lives Are at Stake was not having that, especially with my name on the drawings!Iwent to my director of operations and told him of the call and showed him the calculations. He said he didn’t care, and the contractor/ installer was going to go on with the installation and would use whatever he wanted without regard for the information I provided. Then he told me to get out and added a few expletives, too.I was still not having it and escalated the matter to administration. I said I would go up the ladder, if necessary, and expose this attempt at saving some money and time while risking the safety of children as well as exposing the company to huge liability. They gave in and I was able to have them use the 2-inch pipe. No Safety Shortcuts In addition, there were 20 pendant loudspeakers suspended from the structure throughout the gym. I took the extra effort to note on the drawings that they were to use the supplied safety cabling, attached to the structure, as detailed in the mounting instructions.WhenItold the contractor we would still use them if they followed my drawings, they agreed. I even went out of my way to remind them of the safety cabling for the pendants. Well, what do you think happened when they said they were done hanging the loudspeakers and ready for inspection? Did they install the safety cabling? Of course not. What was the matter with these people? Instead of using some of the same expletives they shared with me during the pipe discussion, I simply told them to get back on the lift and attach the safety cable to each and every pendant loudspeaker in the gym. Oh, and if they want to work with us again, stop taking shortcuts and follow the drawings and installation instructions as given. While this incident may seem simple on the surface, it is not. There are sub-layers here that go deep into our psyche—how we do things, how we interact with others, and how we stand up for ourselves and others. When you fight the good fight and you win, you often lose, as you get labeled a troublemaker. That can lead to being disparaged by management and coworkers, sometimes even fired from your job.
22 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com PEOPLE BEYOND THE TECH
“The BYOD concept is catching on with guests and venues because more and more guests already have a smartphone, and it’s less equipment for venues to purchase and maintain,” Franklin explained. Still, to be ADA compliant, facilities must also provide physical receivers. “We recommend they have some on hand to checkout if needed.”
From left, Kim Franklin, David Missall, Jonathan Owens, Nick Mitchell
Helping the Hard of Hearing
• what signage will be necessary to inform users about the available assistive listening solutions. Missall also underlined the importance of addressing how PA systems will behave with assistive listening solutions. “If there is a PA system, then synching the hearing assist to the PA system is a must—especially if the audio is linked to video content,” he said. “Probably the biggest complaint from the end users is latency. The sound experience should be the same, if not even better, when using hearing assist.”
By Carolyn Heinze A s organizations step up their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, it’s logi cal to presume that these same businesses and institutions strive to ensure they are accom modating people who are hard of hearing. But while the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides compliancy standards related to the deployment of assistive listening technology, AV designers are often challenged with striking the balance between providing what’s necessary according to the rules and what actually gets the job done. According to Kim Franklin, vice president of global marketing at Listen Technologies, an assistive listening systems manufacturer headquartered in Bluffdale, UT, the ADA stipulates that if a space is reliant on audible communications (AV systems that deliver amplified audio via overhead loudspeakers or incorporate a podium equipped with a microphone, for example), then it requires assistive listening technology. This includes classrooms and lecture halls, as well as courtrooms and performance venues. “Private compa nies and commercial facilities that provide goods or services to the public are also required to make accom modations for those that need hearing assistance,” she added.AV integrators need to consider a number of factors when designing assistive listening systems for their clients, noted David Missall, technical applica tions engineer manager and manager of consultant insights at Sennheiser, an audio solutions provider headquartered in Old Lyme, CT. These include:
ments, private companies often try to get away with implementing the bare minimum. For consultants like Owens, this sparks a deeper discussion about compliance standards versus a facility’s actual needs.
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• what the room will be used for (and what content will be presented);
“If it’s a corporate gathering space, or a seminar space, or a town hall meeting room where you’re going to have a lot of people, the challenge on our end is trying to convince them [they may need more than the bare minimum] or at least give them the right information to make a decision,” Owens said. “We’re trying to negotiate [that] you need to spend more money on this system that may never be used, but it’s better for your end users in those instances where you do have more people that need assistive listening.”
The ADA provides guidelines on how many receivers facilities must have on hand based on capacity. In general, Missall said this is equal to 4% of seating capacity; so, if a venue has 100 seats, four receivers are required. A percentage of receivers must also have hearing aid compatibility, he added. The problem with these guidelines is that in some cases, seating capacity isn’t a solid indicator of what is required on a practical level. “Even if we’re meeting the minimum requirement as per the ADA, we might need more than the minimum depending on the use case of the venue,” said Jonathan Owens, CTS-D, senior associate, audiovisual in the Chicago, IL-based office of Shen Milsom & Wilke, a consulting firm specializing in acoustics, AV, IT, security, and medical equipment planning. While schools—which often answer to state agencies that have their own compliance standards— tend to go above and beyond the baseline require
Compliance vs. Reality
• are translation capabilities necessary; and
• how many audio channels will be required;
Listen Technologies’s Listen EVERYWHERE solution enables users to stream audio over a facility’s existing Wi-Fi network to their smartphones. (It also
ADA Standards and Other Factors to Consider When Integrating Assistive Listening Systems
System Choices Owens argued that hearing induction loop systems continue to be the gold standard in assistive listen ing. In these systems, an induction wire is hidden around the perimeter of the space (either under the carpet or concrete floor, or along the middle of the wall at about chair height). A microphone captures the sound, which is then boosted by an amplifier and delivered to the induction wire. People with hearing aids featuring T-coils (or telecoils) can then pick up the audio wirelessly. The issue with induction loops, Owens acknowl edged, is that they are pricey. “They tend to be a lot more expensive than traditional RF-based or IRbased systems, so a lot of clients aren’t really installing those,” he said. Audio streaming over Wi-Fi systems that adopt a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) approach continue to grow in popularity, whereby users access the desired channel on their personal mobile devices and listen to the content via their own earbuds or headphones.
Jonathan Owens from Shen Milsom & Wilke would like to see portable assistive listening systems become more elegant. He said this would give facilities greater flexibility, while at the same time reducing costs. “We’re seeing a lot of multipurpose spaces and classrooms that may not need a perma nently installed assistive listening system,” Owens explained, “but they might get a student or two every other semester who needs some thing in a room that doesn’t have an assistive listening system.” Right now, he and his team address this by specifying transmitter boxes for each room, as well as a pool of receivers that can be distributed as needed. Instead of a large headset and intrusive microphone, Owens envisions a more concealed lavalier or head mic with a transmitter that the presenter may wear around their neck. “What we’d like to see is something like a tour guide system, but [one] that’s more tailored toward assistive listening,” he added.
When Portable is Perfect
While the pandemic forced AV designers and integrators to approach many spaces differently, Franklin said she doesn’t believe that the practices associated with assistive listening changed during the pandemic. That said, COVID-19 has served to create more awareness about the challenges that people who are hard of hearing face. Physical distancing and masking (which resulted in muffled speech and prevented people from reading lips), for example, demonstrated how important—and, at times, how difficult—it is to adequately hear one another. “If anything, I think the pandemic brought the challenges the hard of hearing face front and center, and made people more aware,” she said.
Systems like Sennheiser’s MobileConnect combine audio streaming over Wi-Fi delivery with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) convenience.
ASSISTIVE L ISTENING BUSINESS allows organizations to brand content to offer things like welcome videos and banner ads.) ListenIR, as its name suggests, is the company’s infrared solution, while ListenTALK allows groups of people to conduct two-way communication. MobileConnect is Sennheiser’s streaming over Wi-Fi solution, which also lets users leverage their personal mobile devices. The system may be net worked across corporate or higher ed campuses, for example. Third-party plug-ins assist in generating the associated signage content, so users can obtain the necessary access codes to login to the stream of their choice. MobileConnect also provides users with EQ settings so they can personalize their mix. For assistive listening systems to be effective, it’s important that the audio delivered to them is solid, argued Nick Mitchell, vice president of the sales support group at Diversified, a global technology solutions provider with headquarters in Kenilworth, NJ. This means reducing background noise as much as possible. “If the audio isn’t clean, then it just makes the signal coming in more noisy and less intelligible,” he said. “It’s really critical, when we go through our commissioning effort in the field, to make sure that our audio is good for the in-room speakers.”
The first matrix-based systems were a hybrid solution acting as a central switch allowing crews to connect and manage different partylines, while also coordi nating point-to-point with people in fixed positions on panels to bridge the communications between partylines. This provided a two-to-four-wire interface, so the system could be managed more carefully and with the flexibility needed by the multiple teams requiring communications. Instead of a partyline, which is a large loop of audio that everybody bridges, matrix intercom was more like a crosspoint routing switcher, and early on there were several people designing similar founda tional ideas. Clear-Com’s efforts were derived from a Canadian manufacturer, McCurdy, as well as U.K.based Drake Electronics, with its broadcast four-wire matrix solutions. The Telex RTS version of the matrix intercom in the United States and by Riedel in Germany also contributed to matrix technology, increasingly being recognized as an appropriate solution for broadcast operations (and eventually otherTheapplications).adventofthe digital matrix in the late 1990s made it much easier for people to employ a smaller rack-mounted kit connected in a more intelligent way to allow for the much larger productions, which were becoming the norm. The next big step addressed the need for more mobility, since teams were no longer only sitting in front of an audio mixer or video switcher. Some people wanted to be on the studio floor or be able to move between sites. Analog wireless gave them that mobility with duplex connectivity. Companies like Vega and HME must be recognized among the developers of the early wireless intercom systems. Their idea was to take a partyline system— four or six beltpacks—and put them on either a one or a two-channel system so they could “talk” to each other. That ended up being an important direction that subsequently led to the development of other downstream intercom wireless innovations—and eventually to the wireless systems of today. From their efforts, others also got into wireless intercom, leading to the “classic” UHF-based wireless intercoms. Solutions like Clear-Com’s HelixNet system basically move the partyline concept to a digital platform.
The technologies Butten and others developed laid the foundations for the early analog partyline systems. Users each had a beltpack at one end, a wall box at the other end, and a power supply on the system, allowing everybody to communicate in a partyline operation. We still see modern analog partylines around the world in small theaters and music event venues that may not have the resources or the inclination to move away from plug-and-play wired partyline systems with a two-way radio interface. It remains the mainstay of most live performance venues around the world, and many newer systems are backward compatible. You could likely buy a current analog beltpack to put on a power supply that’s 50 years old, plug it in, and it would work just fine as part of a current and still relevant intercom system.
An Analog Foundation
How Have Production Crew Communications Evolved?
T he earliest intercom uses date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s, when concerts became too loud to allow for waving pieces of paper or shouting from the stage to the back of the hall.
Enter The Matrix
An early Clear-Com intercom advertisement. Intercoms: A History of Distance
However, as live events grew more complicated with multiple stages and more complex production elements, a greater number of large teams needed to communicate with each other and with talent. This is where a partyline system begins to fall short, because it can’t really handle more than four to six channels.
26 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com BUSINESS INTERCOMS
In the early days, large, elaborate shows tried using analog partyline and had tremendous difficulty trying to do as much as they wanted to do. That started the migration to matrix and then to digital partylines.
By Simon Browne
The brilliant idea that Charlie Butten came up with was to use the mic cables that went from the mixer at the back of the hall to the stage, and then layer an intercom system on top of those mic cables. It was early duplex communications. Butten went on to start Clear-Com and is still involved in the company’s development and engineering work to this day. That workflow he developed became the de facto means of communications for live events. Soon, other industries began to take notice, especially broadcast TV, which was struggling with efficient communica tions among multiple people across a studio or newsroom. It was a matter of seeing a workflow in one environment and spinning it toward a new direction. From the original concept of solving a communi cations need has sprung analog, digital, and newer IP systems in a range of configurations: partyline systems, wired and wireless, matrix, beltpacks, headsets, and mobile app-based intercom options.
INTERCOMS BUSINESS Digital Partylines
Simon Browne is the vice president of product management for Clear-Com.
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Of course, analog wireless was and always will be subject to interference. Early systems needed to be managed using the bands of frequencies allowable for use, and it required full-time teams of people on site to coordinate all the wireless feeds and make sure licenses were all secured, since analog wireless in the VHF and UHF band was subject to those kinds of restrictions.Aroundthe year 2000, digital wireless added the ability to use license-free bands, such as Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) bands in Europe and equivalent bands in the United States. DECT auto band selection eliminated the need for such high levels of frequency coordination. The systems were automated and moved dynamically between the beltpack user and the receiver to mitigate any interference. Today, interference may still be an issue in high-capacity areas where you need every drop of bandwidth, but it’s not an issue for somebody to manually manage. It’s simply a matter of co-sharing the available band. Then there’s the development of wireless systems with zoned intercoms based on point-topoint capability. These initially were attached to matrix intercoms and then subsequently became their own systems operated individually. That move toward digital wireless intercom paved the way forward for what are now digital wired solutions, like Clear-Com’s HelixNet system, which basically takes the idea of a partyline and moves it to a digital platform. The individual cables that defined each analog partyline caried just one channel. Digital partyline can put many channels into one cable by digitizing and serializing the audio into duplex streams. Digital partylines also carry metadata that identifies each channel and allows for elaborate signaling.
The current evolution that we’re in now has moved intercom to IP, as digital platforms evolved into sending signals over standard networks, which would first be a local area network and then a wide area network—and then over the public internet. With the development of new IP audio interface boxes, users can connect older analog systems over IP networks, effectively upgrading existing analog partyline systems that may have been in a theater for 20 years. Maybe they’ve identified a need to be able to connect to a rehearsal space in another building, and the only feasible way to get a signal there is over the internet.There are so many more potential uses for intercom development as users continually discover new requirements for enhancing voice communications. One interesting topic is the cloud. Intercom companies at this point typically don’t have a significant cloud presence since low-latency duplex audio mixing and routing across many channels in a virtual system is quite a new technology.Thereare other issues surrounding latency or scalability, but those will be addressed and resolved over time, and intercom surely will be cloud-based. Moving to the cloud will also help usher in the era of “intercom-as-a-service,” giving users the ability to “spin up or spin down” the capacity and capabilities needed for a specific time frame.
The Next Level
“Atlanta was setup in a hybrid approach,” Allen explained. “So, for the floors, we used Panasonic RQ32Ks, which are not native 4K like the 50, but they
28 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com BUSINESS IMMERSIVE ENTERTAINMENT
By Wayne Cavadi W hether it is visiting the plains of Africa on safari or traveling to the depths of space, Illuminarium Atlanta provides a thrilling and completely immersive experience for guests. Using Panasonic projectors, a sound system from HOLOPLOT, and Powersoft’s Mover system to create sound-accurate vibrations, visitors get transported to worlds they’ve only imagined of visiting.There are plenty of adventures—typically spanning from 45 minutes to an hour—from which to choose. WILD, for example, is a virtual safari in which the content was filmed on location around Africa over a span of several months. Guests are transported to different countries and places with very little CGI, bringing a realism to the native species. Selecting the right projector for the job was obviously imperative. “We courted all of the major brands,” explained Brian Allen, executive vice president of technology and content integration at Illuminarium Experiences. “When designing this venue there was a no-stone-left-unturned attitude, so we talked to everybody.”
Illuminarium Delivers Immersive, Virtual Experiences to Audiences
Tour Faraway Lands…in Atlanta
A Unified Vision After a final projector shootout in Orlando in 2022, the choice was clear. “We settled on the Panasonic PT-RQ50K,” Allen said. “We liked the brand because they have been road tested and have been in extreme conditions. The color reproduction is fantastic—it’s unlike anything I’ve seen.” Allen and his team settled on 10 projectors for the smaller room and 36 in the larger space at the Atlanta location. However, there was an additional factor in going with Panasonic, one much more important in the changing environment of location-based entertainment.“Panasonic shined in the relationship,” Allen explained. “It’s one thing to have a great product, but it’s another thing to share the vision of where we are going. They fundamentally understood that immer sive attractions are a big part of the future of enter tainment. So much so, they were willing to design a custom lens for us. Anyone can have a great product, but not everyone can have a great relationship. That’s what it came down to.” That ultra-short-throw lens was the solution to several challenges, including “weird angles,” having to house everything in the ceiling, and the need to cover all the surfaces in the shows. That custom lens is now being used in Illuminarium’s location in Las Vegas, NV, and will continue to be used in future endeavors. However, the approach in the Atlanta location was a bit unique because the lens was still in production when Atlanta was ready to open its doors.
IMMERSIVE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS had the ultra-short-throw lens. We used the 50Ks for the walls, and actually had to flip a few projectors to portrait because we didn’t have enough throw distance. It was a tradeoff.” Leap of Faith Now, what did Allen have in mind for where to project these high-quality projections? The venue wouldn’t use a traditional screen, nor simply a wall, but what Allen called, “a sheet-rock-built screen. We had to invent a wall. We were very meticulous, we put a very high standard on the wall. We kept explaining, ‘You’re not building a wall, you’re building a screen.’ They had to pay close attention to any sort of undula tions or waves or bumps or tape marks, because that will show up. Plus, they are also sound isolation walls. It was quite a big endeavor.” For the sound, Allen and his team went with HOLOPLOT. According to Allen, the company is one of the only that does true wave field synthesis and beamforming on a large scale. “HOLOPLOT has built these modules that are true speaker arrays,” he explained. “They have 96 drivers in each module. And each module has an entire electronics package, like its own mini audio computer station.” However, it was a risk. As Allen recalled, Illumi narium was HOLOPLOT’s first U.S. installation, so the Illuminarium team took a leap of faith. “HOLOPLOT can steer vertically, but also horizon tally,” Allen noted. “That’s where they really shine. They can isolate a beam, reflect off a wall, and hit somebody. The larger the array, the more steerability. “So, we have three levels that give you this halo of sound. That’s important, because we want to localize sound. The immersion doesn’t come just from the visual, it comes from the layering of the audio and the visuals, so when you see that elephant walk across the space—the sound is coming from the elephant. It’s not coming from overhead, or from your left ear—it’s rightThethere.”Atlanta location also adds to the immersive experience with Powersoft’s Mover technology, which creates realistic moving sensations on the floor, such as simulating the feeling of an elephant’s stomp. More than 160 compact Mover linear transducers were deployed across the facility, tasked with adding “feel” to the show by delivering sound through vibrations, along with 12 Quattrocanali 4804D amplifiers for low frequency reproduction. Just Getting Started The shows are mostly automated, but there is onsite technical staff as well as remote staff that can monitor any issues. The additional support is strategic, as the Atlanta location was designed as a multimodal space—there are corporate functions, private events, even the ability to stream sporting events.There is a core production team at Illuminarium Atlanta for content, but the company also partners with Radical Media, which helped produce the first three shows. Illuminarium also consults with other creators. For example, it just launched a children’s show about Alice in Wonderland (Waking Wonderland) with Canadian partners Entertainment One, which runs on Unreal Engine. Guests can also choose the 2D Georgia O’Keefe show based on her book, One Hundred Flowers, or travel into space with Apollo crews in an immersive 3D and CGI experience. Allen is excited for the future of new Illuminarium Experiences, with cities like Miami, Dallas, and Chicago on the horizon. He also envisions a day when the Illuminarium is on a global scale in cities across the “Iworld.want to democratize this format for content creators,” he added. “The technology supports the content and helps further it. But without the content, we’d be nothing.”
How Can the Cloud Help Integrators Deliver SaaS Solutions for Clients?
By Dave Van Hoy S oftware-as-a-Service solutions represent both an opportunity and a challenge for integrators. Before we deep dive into how SIs create a bestcase scenario around delivering SaaS, we must address three crucial questions. First, how do you define SaaS? What are the drivers for its explosive growth in the media and entertainment (M&E) industry? And, most importantly for systems integrators, how can we deliver the benefits of SaaS to our clients? SaaS is both a technology model and an economic model. By migrating infrastructure and workflows to the cloud, SaaS technology gives users the flexibility to scale software-defined services up or down quickly to meet shifting demand. This is a particular benefit as broadcast and M&E users begin to adopt remote production.However, the economic model delivered by SaaS—how we fund our projects and how our clients pay for those goods and services—is its most transformative aspect. Clients pay for software and services as they use them. This can be on a con sumption basis or more likely on a subscription basis, with unlimited usage for a set period. Both payment methods shift clients’ upfront capital expenditure to an ongoing operating expense, making SaaS potentially highly cost-effective with a lower cost of entry. Drivers of SaaS in M&E Since the primary reason for deploying SaaS is economic, it’s critical as an integrator to be in lockstep with your clients’ financial needs and desires. We find that our most important responsibil ity today is the financial analysis for our clients’ purchase of services. We need to help them under stand the costs and benefits involved in deploying SaaS on their own premises versus in the public cloud, the various models they can use for purchase, and the optimal choice for their needs. To achieve a SaaS model, you need to shift some or all your applications from hardware to a completely software-defined workflow, which is no small challenge. The SaaS business model doesn’t neces sarily apply only to the production happening in the cloud or even on an on-premise computer. We’re seeing SaaS in some interesting hardware-defined applications.Say,forexample, I purchased a Grass Valley LDX 86 professional camera. While it comes with a configu ration of 720p at 60 fps out of the box, I can load a software key that will turn it into 1080p at 60 fps. Or a different software key could give me 4K UHD progressive on the same camera just by purchasing a softwareLeveraginglicense.the complete capabilities of the cloud, with everything as a service, gives you the ability to deliver more functionality. This includes not just SaaS, but also hardware or Infrastructure-as-a-Ser vice. Virtual production and real-time delivery via the cloud can also deliver operational savings with a SaaS model. In the ultimate operating expenditure financial model, the client has purchased nothing, only rented it for the minimum length of time, yielding the lowest total cost of ownership. A good example of the economies of Everythingas-a-Service is ASG’s Virtual Production Control Room, which we delivered this year to handle live streaming of an event called the Global Leadership Summit. The client enjoyed real-time, broadcastquality coverage of the event without any on-prem equipment, with the exception of cameras and microphones. With remote-managed service, support, and media processing, all necessary production tools and the content distribution network were accessible within an HTML interface. Our client used this cloud production control room only for the length of time the event ran, spending a few thousand dollars for the three-day production instead of hundreds of thou sands to build the physical infrastructure. The recent Global Leadership Summit saved thousands of dollars over a three-day live streaming production using ASG’s Virtual Production Control Room instead of a full on-prem production solution.
30 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com TECHNOLOGY CLOUD POWER
Apart from cameras and microphones, there was no on-prem equipment at the Global Leadership Summit.
31avnetwork.com // September 2022 // SCN CLOUD POWER TECHNOLOGY
For systems integrators, as well as for our vendors, this is a moment of evolve or die. In the transformation to SaaS, there are case studies of significant public companies, such as Autodesk and Adobe, that have successfully evolved to weather this transition. You can learn a lot by studying their challenges and how each were addressed. If you look at their quarterly earnings, both took a horrible beating with a cash flow dip in the middle of the transition period, but they planned their funding to survive the dip.
The great news is that this is all new tech, so every client needs services like consulting, setup, training, and other ongoing support. If we’ve done our jobs right, we should have built up an ongoing business based on SaaS that, within five years, will begin to reach the same kind of profit numbers we currently see by selling hardware.
In another VPCR project for Yahoo, ASG enabled the creation of a cloud production control room that can be used from any of its four locations. Gaining that functionality without building another studio resulted in a massive cost savings. They spent around $400,000 for a virtual studio that would have cost millions to build physically. Surviving and Thriving with SaaS Clearly, deploying SaaS delivers huge financial benefits for the client. But as systems contractors, how do we ensure that we can both survive and thrive as more organizations look to benefit from this model? In the very best of cases, we’re making a small percentage of the cost of the consumed services. Instead of selling hardware for a lump sum, we get that same amount of money—but over many months and assuming the client doesn’t cancel their subscription. How do we make up that difference in cash flow?
The most important strategy for systems integra tors is to make yourself indispensable by providing very high-value services during the transition. Just understanding this at the top level doesn’t get you there. There are going to be some difficult cash flow moments for sure. But I believe this is one of those moments in business where you can make up a fair amount of ground if you run fast and hard—and deliver your services well.
For systems integrators, as well as for our vendors, this is a moment of evolve or die.
The Fight to Get It Right
SMPTE ST 2110: Broadcast centric, it focuses on better video quality at low latencies, however, it lacks
Solutions like Aurora Multimedia's VPX-TC1 AVoIP transceiver support several standards.
All AVoIP solutions have their pros and cons; it's best to survey what's available to find which best suits your needs.
32 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com TECHNOLOGY AV-OVER-IP
What Makes the Ultimate AV-over-IP Standard? By Paul Harris T he AV-over-IP market has been growing year after year, deeply impacting how AV is dis tributed. Products come in a variety of flavors addressing many applications. However, to date, all fall short addressing the full spectrum of a one, true “go-to”Sometimes,standard.we must be critical of what we have to achieve what we really want. In fairness, to all the up-and-coming AVoIP standards, it takes a lot of time, money, and development to become the dominateCurrently,standard.MPEG (H.264/265), SMPTE ST 2110, NDI, SDVoE, IPMX, Dante, and ASPEED (popular ASIC used in many products) exist. These are a combina tion of transport and codecs, not to be confused with each other. The transport protocol will manage the communications, timing, and more in relation with the codec. The codec is the compression technique that will ultimately determine the bandwidth and quality of the image. The Importance of Interoperability
There are a variety of manufacturers with technolo gies that are proprietary in nature and can only be used by those specific manufacturers, making interoperability with other brands impossible. They all have value—not negating that fact—but the focus here is standards. While a standard could be defined by majority market share, interoperability between different brands allows more choice, better cost, innovation, and overall sustainability. The VHS vs. Beta format war is a great example. Betamax (proprietary to Sony) was better overall, but VHS was licensed to a vast amount of manufacturers, which resulted in lower cost to the consumer with a larger variety of choices. In the end, VHS became the dominate choice. What makes the ultimate AVoIP standard? All you need is interoperability, no compression to very high compression for operation on any network band width, low to no latency, near perfect image and audio quality, encryption, security, USB/RS-232/IR/CEC control, timing accuracy between different units, scaling, video wall modes, image rotation, seamless switching, windowing, remote previewing, OSD, backward compatibility, and the use of standard communication practices for the control and device protocol. Simple, right? Moving forward, simultaneous low and high bandwidth will also be an important feature to bridge the remote workforce with the facility (unified communications). This is where H.264/.265 will shine, as locally high quality and low latency is necessary, while the remote user will need the lower bandwidth for the internet connection. While this all sounds like the kid in the proverbial candy store, it does solve most issues across multiple markets. Broadcast, corporate, residential, digital signage, government, and medical currently focus on their specific needs—but it should not have to be segmented this way. One unified standard could open new innovations and capabilities to which each market has never been exposed. Often, the reason AVoIP seems intimidating is the rules each different standard requires on the network, as well as the protocols to control them. On The Menu Let’s look at what is currently available. They all have their pros and cons. Below is a brief list only—I encourage you to research deeper into the full specification to reveal how it may or may not impact your application. MPEG (H.264, H.265): Very low bandwidth (typically utilized on 10/100 networks), it’s great for internet transmission and recording. Long latency and poor image quality compared to others. Focused on audio and video.
ASPEED: On its third generation ASIC, ASPEED is known for its low-cost, full-featured 1G transport/ codec. Image quality, latency, and feature set are extremely good. ASPEED is listed as a standard because of its popularity in the low-cost, low-power consumption market. It does lack interoperability between manufacturers that other standards have and is focused currently on 1G market.
the interoperability expected of a standard, as it has no session defined protocol, no encryption, and no transport control channels.
FPGA vs. ASIC: What is important is not the breakdown of the differences, just the result to the product(s). For an AVoIP standard to be successful, it will be necessary to be available in an ASIC form. ASIC uses less power and costs less, leading to better adaptation in a variety of products. FPGA, while very flexible, has a high cost and a very high power consumption. For example, SDVoE’s ASIC uses as little as 2 watts of power. When this standard first started as an FPGA, it was more than 12 watts. That is a lot of heat to put in a flat panel display or some other type of device, making it more difficult to have as a base feature. So many choices, what does one do? The answer is easy. Evaluate the requirement of the application and use the standard that best suits the project. It will be years before there is one true standard that rises above the rest. Until that time, there are plenty of great choices. It never hurts to do a side-by-side comparison with various manufacturers on the market. Compare the pricing, features, warranty, support, and availabil ity. Never believe the marketing jargon—believe the results of your own testing and due diligence.
Interoperability between different brands allows more choice, better cost, innovation, and overall sustainability.
IPMX: Focused on 1G to 25G, it uses the SMPTE ST 2110 and JPEG XS standards to achieve its current results. It supports transport control channels, encryption, and playback on computers. Depending on the partner, the video wall and other advanced features can vary. Currently only on FPGA, which makes it more costly and power hungry.
AV-OVER-IP TECHNOLOGY
Dante AV: Continuing to build on its popular audio standard, it is currently focused on the 1G distribution space. Based on the IntoPix JPEG 2000 standard, it currently requires use of an FPGA, so it is costly and power hungry. It has transport control channels, but lacks the features other standards have and has a limited adoption due to current global supply chain issues.
SDVoE: Focused only on 10G infrastructure, it delivers high-quality encrypted AV with no frame latency (100us) in a low power ASIC. Feature rich with video wall, windowing, scaling, and more. Transport control channels for RS-232, USB, and IR. Highly interoperable, but limited by a lack of 1G infrastruc ture capability.
Paul Harris is the CEO of Aurora Multimedia.
NDI: Developed by NewTek, this is a mid-com pression, low-latency transport and codec. Mainly used in the broadcast industry, it has started to work its way into commercial AV using cameras as the means to gain traction. Good interoperability, but lacks the transport control channels and the higher quality video.
Blackmagic Design Delivers with HyperDeck Shuttle HD
Good Things Come in (Very) Small Packages
34 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT REVIEW
By Chuck Gloman
A lmost all video technology has shrunk in size, become more streamlined, and offers greater capabilities. The HyperDeck Shuttle HD from Blackmagic Design is no different. Weigh ing less than a pound and measuring less than 5.5 inches front to back, this recorder/player provides quick access to stored or recorded footage. If your inputs and outputs are HDMI, this is a great deck for you. When connected to a computer or an input on one of the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini line of live production switchers, you can select stored videos to be played on demand as well as record the camera or switcher’s output to an SD card or USB-C drive. Any type of DNx, ProRes, or H.264 video file you have stored on your media may be retrieved and sent to a switcher, displayed on an HDMI monitor with HDMI, or streamed over a network using the Ethernet connection.Oneend of the HyperDeck Shuttle HD is domi nated by a large shuttle dial, which can be used to browse through stored 1920x1080 HD files. On the top left are the recessed Menu and Set buttons. Selecting Menu brings up the Record heading with input, codec, and trigger record. The input has HDMI as your only choice, while codec H.264, ProRes, and DNxHD. Pressing the Set button locks in your choice. If you want to use the HyperDeck Shuttle HD as a prompter, you can access it in the second menu topic, Monitor. Here you can select the percentage size of the font, line spacing, side margin, and whether to flip the image vertically or horizontally. This feature alone is worth the price, because any RFT file can be viewed on the prompter, so you don’t need to purchase additional software. The Audio Menu allows two options in recorded audio channels, PCM or AAC. Storage, the final menu, gives you the option of Media 1 and 2 (the SD card or USB-C Drive), USB spill, and format media. On the unit itself, an LED will illuminate next to “Disk” on the unit if the USB-C input is connected— or before “SD” if an SD card is inserted. Use the back skip or forward skip buttons to move quickly between clips; the clip button limits you to playback of a single clip. There are also record, play, and stop buttons, as well as jog and scroll buttons for reviewing clips with the Thedial.left and right sides have vents, while the rear is equipped with a 12v DC port, Ethernet, USB-C for external disk, HDMI I/O, and an SD card slot. The system is ready to use out of the box. (I checked online for the latest software version, but mine was already up to date.) In fact, the only items in the box are the unit itself, various plugs to make your AC adapter compatible to the wall socket, and externalthe The Fine Print
The HyperDeck Shuttle HD arrived in time to be used by my students during our university’s Summer Video Institute. In the six-day course, each of the 14 students had to write, shoot, direct, and edit three videos to be shown to an invited audience on Saturday.Students who shot on location in single camera style exported their completed projects to a SanDisk 1 TB drive in 1920x1080 ProRes. When the shoot was done, they could plug in the drive and get instant access to every shot from the USB-C drive, quickly shuttling through the day’s project. Students shooting live programming with our three Hitachi studio cameras recorded directly to the HyperDeck Shuttle HD on SD cards using our ATEM Mini Pro’s HDMI output. During the course, at least, the HyperDeck Shuttle HD became our DVR rather than our older, much more expensive DVR with removable drives. We did run into a problem, however, because we failed to read the fine print. Only a few of the projects on the SanDisk drive were accessible. That’s when I noticed in the manual that our drive was not listed as one of the HyperDeck Shuttle HD’s compatible drives. We also had issues with an SD card that was not listed. Blackmagic Design maintains an updated list of recommended SD cards and USB-C drives on its support center webpage. We were able to access some files on our non-compatible SSD drive, but that’s not a reliable way to work. Better to use a compatible drive and have no issues. In addition to making sure your drive is on the compatible list (check that first), the recorded file is only readable if the menu is Above, the rear of the unit offers connections for SD card or USB-C storage, as well as power, Ethernet, and HDMI ports.
Right, The large shuttle dial on the HyperDeck Shuttle HD will get you to your shot faster than any computer mouse.
PRODUCT REVIEW TECHNOLOGY
The HyperDeck Shuttle HD couldn’t be easier to use. There is simply no learning curve.
The HyperDeck Shuttle HD couldn’t be easier to use. There is simply no learning curve. Our students loved the new technology and adapted to it almost instantly. This product must be the easiest item Blackmagic Design offers (and quite possibly the smallest). Limited only by the drive’s storage capacity, there is no faster way to access digital files. As a teaching tool, the large shuttle dial on the HyperDeck Shuttle HD got to the shot faster than any computer mouse. The HyperDeck Shuttle HD is a great little “still store” for your files. You can access any files you want and cue them on demand—and it’s much less expensive than recording to a separate DVR. As long as your files are recorded in the selected codec, you are good to go.
The students producing live TV with the ATEM Mini Pro had the output recorded to the HyperDeck Shuttle HD (and compatible SD card). Setting the HyperDeck Shuttle HD’s Record menu to H.264 kept the files smaller but still easily accessible. Again, it’s important to note that the unit will only read the files of the selected codec. Luckily, with a class like ours, we set the parameters of the recorded projects.
the correct codec. If you recorded in ProRes and your HyperDeck Shuttle HD is set to H.264 or DNxHD, the HyperDeck Shuttle HD won’t see your file, which means no playback. Easy Access Once we acquired media that was on the list (both an SD card and an SSD drive), students were able to play their projects. The process was much faster than selecting individual clips on the computer and using a mouse to pick out specific shots to analyze.
Affordable Upgrades for Podcast Production
ATEN, Audio-Technica, and Shure Deliver Quality Audio on a Budget
Inputs 1 and 2 pull double duty as XLR and 1/4-inch standard TRS stereo jacks, so you can plug in mics or musical instruments. (In an effort not to offend our readers, I will not share my electric guitar test performance online for review.) Another 3.5mm
MicLIVE even includes four adjustable Voice FX settings, which are accessed from the mode button on the mixer (or mode menu on the GUI mixer). You can elevate your tone (pitch), add some echo (reverb), sound like you just inhaled helium (female), or imitate the singer from Yello’s hit song, “Oh Yeah” (male). These are all obvious digital effects, but they do offer some
Software Boost For best results, you’ll need to download OnAir Audio, a free program designed specifically for MicLIVE. While the physical mixer is perfectly operational on its own, the software provides additional functional ity. For example, the unit has one knob that is shared between all inputs; the green, yellow, and red LEDs surrounding it indicate your audio level. However, the GUI offers an expanded mixer layout, with each input assigned its own fader bar and mute button. MicLIVE offers AI Smart EQ, which automatically calibrates EQ settings to compensate for your recording environment. If you plan to take your show on the road, AI Smart EQ can help minimize unflat tering locations. You can also access EQ settings and more for each input manually through the GUI. When active, the auto ducking feature lowers the volume of inputs 3 and 4 when you start talking on inputs 1 or 2. It’s a nice feature if your background music is being fed through one of the sub audio inputs, so you don’t have to rush to fade out the music as you start talking. On the mixer itself, there are eight effects buttons, which are used to playback stingers, bumpers, or jingles stored within MicLIVE. Recording new clips (up to 20 seconds each) is as simple as pressing a few buttons. On the mixer, buttons are numbered 1-7, with musical notes on the eighth button, but the GUI allows you to name each effect and add colors and icons. You can also adjust the playback volume and set your clip to loop through the GUI.
input TRRS works as a sub audio source for back ground music or as a third mic input. The fourth input, a USB-C port, provides the connection to your computer for recording, but can simultaneously deliver audio for your program, if needed. Two headphone jacks with individually adjustable monitoring levels make it easy for host and guest to hear the show as it’s produced. Packaged in a sturdy plastic housing that’s about 2.5 inches deep, MicLIVE only weighs about a pound and delivers 24-bit/96kHz audio sampling. An oversized “on-air” button lights up in bright red when the mixer output is live. I’m probably just being greedy, but I would have liked a USB input option (or two) on the mixer as well, so I could put my podcasting mics to use.
AT2040 features a hypercardioid polar pattern and internal windscreen.
The Shure MV7 has an
volumeandinterfacetouchpanelintegratedforgainheadphoneadjustment.Audio-Technica’s
36 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT REVIEW
By Mark J. Pescatore W hen I used to produce podcasts, my setup was simple: It was me, a USB microphone, some sound absorption material, the occasional prerecorded interview, and recording/editing software. However, for many podcasters, the best content comes from conversa tions—but trying to use multiple USB mics on the same computer can be complicated. An external audio mixer is an easy solution for accommodating multiple inputs. When I was given the opportunity to test a couple of XLR microphones, the Shure MV7 and the AudioTechnica AT2040 (more on those later), I figured it was a good opportunity to review a portable mixer as well. I found one in the ATEN UC8000 MicLIVE six-channel AI audio mixer. This miniature marvel is a great option for podcasters on a limited budget, and (with a little practice) can be easily managed by an on-air host.
Different Approaches
Priced at $219 on the Shure website (without the podcast kit), the MV7 has more connectivity options and additional software-based features (frequency response 50-16,000 Hz). You can even customize the colors of your MV7 (for an additional fee) through Colorware. If you want your mic to be a branding element, or if you’re looking for a mic to pull double duty for XLR and USB setups, there’s no denying the appeal here.
avnetwork.com // September 2022 // SCN 37 PRODUCT REVIEW TECHNOLOGY
creativity for podcasts. Plus, you can create custom (read: more subtle) Voice FX presets from the OnAir Audio software and assign each preset with a custom color light on the mixer’s mode button for easy recall. Priced at less than $300, MicLIVE is an affordable option for school media and music programs, though integrators will have to configure some sort of theft protection. It can also be a useful tool for companies or individuals looking to produce their own podcast interviews without spending a fortune on equipment. Though a recording option within the software would be a welcome addition, there are a lot of features packed into a very compact, portable package—and the option of physical mixer and/or GUI control will make MicLIVE appealing for a variety of setups.
The ATEN UC8000 MicLIVE offers a physical audio mixer and/or GUI control with up to four inputs.
The AT2040 is less than half the price—$99 on Audio-Technica’s website—with a tighter pickup pattern and higher level of off-axis rejection, more streamlined appearance, and an internal windscreen (frequency response 80-16,000 Hz). However, you only get the XLR output and there is no companion software, so it’s up to you to add processing if you want it. Still, especially for schools or corporate environments, it’s hard to argue with a dynamic microphone that sounds this nice at this price.
The Shure MV7 sent to me was part of a podcast kit with a Manfrotto PIXI tripod and two 10-foot USB cables. A true hybrid design, the back of the unit features XLR and USB ports (yes, you can use them simultaneously), plus a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The MV7, which was announced in late 2020, also includes a form-fitting windscreen and adjustable yoke. When the yoke is attached to the Manfrotto PIXI, the mic sits about 10 inches above your desk. You can adjust the angle of the mic using the yoke, but you can also change the angle of the yoke with the tripod’s locking mechanism. It’s a simple, sturdy tripod that works well if you don’t have a standard or boom mic stand. What makes the MV7 particularly interesting is its integrated touchpanel interface. From there you can adjust your mic gain (green LEDs) or headphone volume (orange LEDs). I’m not one for touching a mic during production (old habits die hard), but the touchpanel also includes a mute button that automat ically kills the MV7. You can even lock the touchpanel once your levels are in place. I couldn’t see the interface well when I positioned my mic for recording, but I could glimpse enough of the LEDs so they served as an indicator that the mic was on and functioning. Note, all that functionality goes away when you use the XLR input—the touchpanel only works via the USBForconnection.maximum control, your MV7 requires a free software download of the ShurePlus MOTIV app for your laptop, phone, or tablet. From there, you can create custom user presets, change filters and EQ to better suit your voice, adjust recording levels, or just set the auto level mode and let the microphone figure out your gain and compression settings. You can also record to your phone or tablet. You can’t change the cardioid pickup pattern, but there is a setting to adjust the mic based on its distance from the speaker. In my office—ahem, podcast recording studio—the mic stays “near” (about 1-6 inches away), but a “far” auto level adjusts the mic for talent that is 6-18 inches away without the annoying gain hiss you’d expect. Introduced last year, the AT2040 is a more straight minimum. Instead of a yoke, it has an integrated shock mount to minimize noise from your mic stand or boom. There are also no integrated LEDs—if it’s plugged in, it’s on. The AT2040 has a hypercardioid polar pattern, so it’s very focused on what’s in front of it. An Audio-Technica padded storage pouch is Bothincluded.aredynamic mics designed to minimize room noise, and neither requires phantom power. Featuring all-metal construction, both mics also have a solid build quality. Compared to the AT2040, the MV7 looks a little chunky—and oddly back heavy when you take off the windscreen—but it does feature the integrated touchpanel. Test Drives I read part of one of my recent editorials to test both microphones. My voiceovers were recorded in Audacity and exported as MP3s. Both VOs were recorded with the air conditioning working hard in the background to minimize the South Florida summerSomethingheat. to consider: I use a compact micro phone isolation shield when I record audio projects. It works very well with my side address USB microphones—but not with the MV7 or AT2040, because neither one sits upright. You’ll have to find another solution for sound absorption, though the mics performed very well without it. Not surprisingly, both microphones delivered high-quality thereproduction.audioComparingXLR-basedrecordings
TECHNOLOGY NEW PRODUCTS
38 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com
By Mark J. Pescatore L aunched earlier this year, the new PCX Series of passive column array loudspeakers incor porates the company’s UniBeam steerable technology for optimal intelligibility with minimal aesthetic impact. Brandon Heinz, product man ager, offered some additional insights into the new product line.
Brandon Heinz
Deep PCXRenkus-HeinzDive:Series
Glensound GTM To meet the very demanding firewall challenges of audio in esports, Glensound developed the GTM (Game, Team, Me), a networked device which ensures each player hears only his or her own game sound and communications with their team. GTM provides a single device that combines multiple functions required to support interfacing and communication during an esports tournament. A panel with three level mixes allows players to control their own audio mix quickly and easily, while headsets and head phones plug directly into the panel to deliver game audio, team comms, and the player’s own voice. The device is fully remote controllable and configurable by tournament engineers. The system allows game source audio to be picked up from multiple sources depending on the tournament format, and supports multichannel mixing pre-configurable inputs from Glensound’s Dante platform or de-embedded audio from an SDI connection.
: What’s a good application for the PCX Series? BH: When designing the PCX Series, the idea was to enable more installations in more venue locations. The compact size, precise coverage, and elegant design make the PCX Series the perfect loudspeaker for all kinds of applications like house of worship, K-12 and higher education, corporate boardrooms, transportation centers, and more. Thanks to the out-of-the-box IP64 rating, the PCX Series is ideal for even the most challenging outdoor environments like theme parks, cruise ships, and other outdoor venues. Built from the ground up to meet EN54 standards [certification pending], all three PCX models are an ideal fit for critical life safety applications.
: What makes the PCX Series of passive column speakers unique? Brandon Heinz: When we started development of the PCX Series, we knew we had to come up with a sound solution that was truly unique. We envisioned a line of elegant, full-featured passive columns that provide integrators and systems contractors with the precise coverage listeners receive in our digital beam-steered arrays but in the passive domain. To accomplish this, we developed an implemen tation of Renkus-Heinz’s proprietary UniBeam algorithm, the same technology we use in the ICONYX and other beam-steered loudspeakers, in the passive domain for the PCX Series. The Passive UniBeam Technology is essentially a passive crossover network that addresses each transducer with a specially designed passive filter network to generate an asym metrical vertical dispersion pat tern—delivering consistent front-to-back audio coverage with minimal side lobe artifacts.
The newest members of JBL Professional’s flagship VTX line array series are the VTX A6 subcompact dual 6.5-inch passive line array element and the B15 compact, arrayable 15-inch subwoofer. As a stan dalone system or as a supplement to larger VTX systems, the A6 6.5-inch passive two-way line array element was engineered for stunning sonic perfor mance and ease of integration and deployment. It houses two custom 6.5-inch woofers and a 3-inch annular-diaphragm compression driver, and features JBL’s patented Radiation Boundary Integrator (RBI) and Differential Drive dual-voicecoil, dual-magnet woofer. The B15 features acoustic advancements such as SlipStream double-flared exponential ports and Differential Drive dual-voicecoil design. Two B15 versions are available: the B15 and the B15G, which is designed without rigging hardware for groundstacked applications.
: What are some of the other features? BH: The PCX Series is a full-featured product line. All models feature an included gland nut protected input panel. Flush-mount wall brackets are also included and are only possible thanks to the Passive UniBeam Technology. If an additional down angle is required, there is an optional pan/tilt wall bracket to facilitate higher mounting heights. All models feature a high-quality audio transformer for use in 70/100 V constant voltage distributed sound systems.
JBL Professional VTX A6 and B15
: What is the difference between models? BH: There are three models in the PCX Series, the PCX4, PCX8, and PCX16—and all three have essentially the same features. The primary difference between the three models is the number of 3-inch, full-range drivers: PCX4 has four drivers, PCX8 has eight drivers, and the PCX16 has 16.
Platinum Tools Digital Tone and Probe Kit
MAXHUB UC M31 With a feature set that includes a panoramic 180-degree field of view, auto tracking to follow the currently speaking meeting participant, plus six video layouts to suit every meeting type from small groups to full-room presentations, the new UC M31 4K panoramic camera optimizes the meeting environment to achieve the most productive videoconferencing sessions. The UC M31 utilizes three 12MP cameras—each with 4K UHD resolution. Auto tracking not only recognizes and zooms in on meeting participants, but can also track speakers as they move about the room. Further, the UC M31 can auto-track changes in the number of meeting participants. Incorporating both USB Type-C and USB-Type A connectors (one each), the UC M31 connects to a Bluetooth speaker without an external USB hub. Its plug-and-play setup makes it easy to integrate the camera with an existing central control system. Hollyland Lark M1 The lightweight Lark M1 wireless lavalier microphone system features Hollyland’s exclusive, innovative HearClear noise cancellation technology, plus 650-foot line-of-sight range. The omnidirectional microphones convey rich, detailed speech at up to 48kHz/16bit. The compact portable charging case charges and protects transmitters and receivers, providing up to eight hours runtime for each transmit and receive unit, and up to 20 hours of continuous operating time. Curved-edge ergonomics and matte UV-painted surfaces are comfortable to wear, and acoustic performance is optimized by the sleek metal mesh-textured skin. The Lark M1’s powerful selfadaptive audio processing algorithm always achieves professional results. Intelligent device identification switches between mobile and camera modes without tedious manual adjustment, though manual control is available if required. The system is ideal for live streaming, interviews, podcasting, and remote conferences. Two packages are available, solo and duo, for diverse user demands.
Offering a wide range of features that makes them among the most flexible 4X1 KVM switches currently available, the OS and software-agnostic Draco DPS KVM 4X1 desktop series switches are designed to allow quick customization to support multiple displays. The switches can be customized to support single-head, dual-head, triple-head, or quad-head computer systems. Starting with a base DisplayPort four-input, single-head package, up to 4K60 can be supported. The DPS 4X1 base unit is a standard two-slot desktop chassis with support for USB-HID, USB 2.0, and optional audio connections for up to four computers to a single DisplayPort monitor. When more displays are added, users can expand the switch with the 4X1 video expansion card using IHSE USA’s standard six-slot chassis. All DPS 4X1 cards fit in any IHSE USA frame type and integrate with any IHSE USA KVM systems.
Blackmagic Design ATEM SDI Switchers Designed for power and portability, Blackmagic Design’s new family of portable ATEM SDI live production switchers feature 3G-SDI connections. Even with their small size, ATEM SDI switchers offer standards converters on all inputs, internal DVEs, chromakey, professional transitions, and a built-in Fairlight audio mixer with six-band parametric EQ, compressor, and limiter on all inputs. ATEM SI makes it fast to create professional live production using multiple cameras. The Pro and Extreme models feature built-in streaming for live streaming to YouTube, Facebook, and more. All video sources will re-sync to the switcher, even if they operate at different video standards. The ATEM Software Control app unlocks the hidden power of ATEM SDI, and features a visual switcher user interface with param eter palettes for making quick adjustments.
IHSE USA Draco DPS KVM 4X1
SM1001 The SM1001 is a 10-inch subwoofer with a passive radiator to generate deep, high-output bass response. The SM1001 uses a proprietary 10-inch high-excur sion, ultra-long throw mica-graphite polypropylene driver and a downward-firing bass radiator. The efficient long-throw designs are superbly linear, making the SM1001 an ideal complement to any music system. The driver is attached to a 1.5-inch MDF baffle to eliminate cabinet distortion. The SM1001 is a great addition to background and foreground audio installations where high-quality, true bass response, and rapid installation are critical. Aerobic rooms, retail stores, restaurants, nightclubs, bars, theme parks, arenas, ballrooms, and churches are all ideal fits for this subwoofer. Available in white or black, the flexible SM1001 delivers clear bass and unparalleled low-frequency coverage from a ceiling, wall, corner, hanging or free standing.
40 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com TECHNOLOGY NEW PRODUCTS
SoundTube
The TDG310K1C Digital Tone and Probe Kit allows tracing and locating of single or bundles cables that are connected to unpow ered or active networks such as phone lines, network cables, or coax cables. The built-in test functions can verify proper termination of network cables or test for shorts in the single-ended test mode. Features include audible and visual signal strength indicators, built-in testing of RJ45 terminations, the ability to check the status of analog phone lines as well as trace and locate cables in unpowered or live circuits, and integrated highintensity flashlight.
NEW PRODUCTS TECHNOLOGY INSTALLATION PRODUCTS MODULAR FLOOR BOXESFIBER CABLESFLYPACKS & ROAD CASES To Advertise in the SYSTEMS CONTRACTOR NEWS CLASSIFIEDS, Contact Zahra Majma zahra.majma@futurenet.comat For the latest industry news and information, visit us online avnetwork.comat
Hall Technologies Discovery Series
Datapath VisionSC-S2
The Discovery Series offers cost-effective 4K extension with flexible USB and HDMI capabilities for software videoconferencing and audio extraction. The kits were designed specifically to address signal extension for multiple participants in classrooms, huddle spaces, or conference rooms. It includes an HDBaseT wall plate transmitter and receiver kit that pairs natively with Zoom, Teams, Skype, and more. Discovery makes collaboration easy and fluid with support for resolu tions up to 4K. In higher education applications, the kits support both remote and in-person learning. For conference rooms and huddle spaces, Discovery provides a simple way to communicate and share ideas utilizing USB peripherals like cameras and speaker phones. The Discovery Series is available with onegang and two-gang wall plate transmitters.
A dedicated SDVoE capture card for real-time applica tions, the VisionSC-S2 card meets the SDVoE Alliance’s stringent parameters for minimum latency and high-quality resolution. The VisionSC-S2 ensures compatibility with the SDVoE Alliance’s broad range of multi-manufacturer hardware solutions that provide quality, networked video to the highest standards. With 4K/60 capability, the VisionSC-S2 card delivers an important part of the networked video mix. Enough PCIe bandwidth is provided through Datapath’s dedicated SDVoE capture hardware to properly transfer the full quality available in the SDVoE feed into an application, and with minimum added latency to ensure the end-to-end solution is fit for real-time applications. SDVoE is also ideal for routing to media severs for long-distance, real-time processingsignal where latencyminimumiscrucial.
C2G Custom HDMI Adapter Ring C2G now offers its retractable universal mount 4K HDMI dongle adapter ring configured for every project. Available through ConnectXpress, Legrand’s ondemand cabling connectivity expert, integrators can select and build an adapter ring with the exact connec tors they need for any installation. Using ConnectX press, building a custom HDMI Adapter Ring is done in three easy steps. First, select the mount—choose between a universal cable mount, retractable table box mount, or universal retractor. Then, select the adapt ers. Finally, select a pull tab or not; pull tabs can be customized to feature a company or organization logo. Lumens LC100 A new model in the CaptureVision series, the LC100 two-channel HD recorder and streaming media processor is designed to simplify live production. Its six inputs include HDMI, SDI, USB, Ethernet, and XLR audio ports with phantom power, providing users the flexibility to use a wide range of AV sources. It can record and live stream two channels of video, as well the program output full HD video quality. Recordings can be captured internally to a 2 TB hard drive for secure local storage, with support for automated transfer of data to network storage or FTP servers. The LC100 can control Lumens IP cameras and trigger presets, making it a true all-in-one media device. The LC100 is ideal for lecture capture in education, streaming worship services, sharing corporate training, and live event delivery.
“Because that’s how we have always done it” is not only antiquated, it’s a genuine disservice to the partners we work with, if we can’t stand there and explain why it’s still the best way to do things.
Joe Dunbar is a technology professional invested in mutual partnerships that build long-lasting growth and opportunity for everyone involved. He is the Midwest sales manager at Sennheiser and a member of the 2020 Class of SCN’s The Nine.
By Joe Dunbar
42 SCN // September 2022 // avnetwork.com
VIEWPOINT This Is How It Is Now
I won’t beat on about the current state of things, supply chain, logistics, blah, blah, blah— because you already know the deal. Some people have some things and sometimes they get more, and sometimes (sometimes for a long time) they don’t, and we all must make do. That is the way of the world right now, and many people are being forced to pick between some not-so-great options. I would contest though, that this where progress and growth lie. Picking your best of the often only bad options and committing. I think often we get stuck in the mindset of “right” decision or “wrong” decision—when the truth is it’s just “this path” or “that path,” and the rest is what you make of what you encounter on either path. To me, the companies that are growing and trending up right now are ones that were willing to entertain creative solutions and step outside their comfort zones. As many of us have, and many of us will, I have had the awesome and rewarding experience growing through quite a few roles with quite a few companies, in different parts in the supply chain and in different periods of the of my career thus far. Inside the vacuum that has become our world post-COVID, I have had a microcosm of that career: systems integrator, manufacturer, distributor. Reflecting on that kind of smaller scale has made me realize that my experience, which once was probably a little more unique prior to COVID, is now extremely relatable, as many people have and are going through similar experiences now. When COVID shook the job market up and I faced some changes, it didn’t faze me that much. Not because I’m Captain Cool or anything (for the record I am), but because I have been through it before, and crazy as I may be, I tend to thrive in the whirlwinds, even if I do crave calm. From all that, I have been wanting to share my perspective, having had these experiences, and to ask each of you what your perspective is on this, having had your experiences. It all stems from people and webinars and marketing material and everything about “return to offices” and “back to normal”—and I just can’t imagine looking in the mirror and telling myself that joke. So, let’s talk about “normal” with a nice and easily palatable topic, like the supply chain. There’s no way anyone can look me in the eyes and tell me you’re not having one hell of an experience with procurement right now. Shortages and delays are still lingering in ways that are painful for everyone. Wireless technology and USB extension have been hit particularly hard in our world. I hate to be the bearer of bad news (no I don’t, I love it and anyone that knows me will confirm that), but this is how it is now. I’m not saying it will be this way forever; quite the contrary, I see many reasons for optimism now and ahead. I’m saying the unpredictability is real, and this is how it is now. Our almanacs are no longer the North Stars we once used them for, so to speak. “Because that’s how we have always done it” is not only antiquated, it’s a genuine disservice to the partners we work with, if we can’t stand there and explain why it’s still the best way to do things. Relative to procurement, that means the “just in time” business has shifted dramatically. Then, look what that has done to sales and buying cycles over the last few years. Thrown entirely askew like everything else, there is a hint of these cycles returning to some form of normalcy, but I think that’s a bit of a misnomer.Whilewe have seen more of a glimpse of normalcy, let’s say, in the education space, the enterprise space is in a weird space right now. Some companies are currently doing huge rollouts, signing up for more, and putting in orders to get inventory secured, while others are struggling to make a choice about what to do in their one huddle room. Some systems integrators are finding huge growth in their areas of focus, or with the brands that they have always been using, while many are being forced to adapt, get creative, learn other platforms, change their offerings, and broaden their offerings. All that to say that normal isn’t normal anymore. So, if this is how it is now, then what must we do from your perspective to innovate instead of stagnate—so that how it is now isn’t how it always has to be?
