Installation 241 August 2021

AUGUST 2021

Issue 241

installation-international.com | AV integration in a networked world

GOING LIVE! Issue 241

HOW THE LIVE EVENTS SECTOR IS SET TO FLOURISH POST-COVID THANKS TO AV

IT'S SHOWTIME! STADIUMS: AV-FUELLED HOPES TOURING: AUDIO DEVELOPMENTS

T h e n ew a n n u a l AV t e c h n o l o g y s p e c i a l r e p o r t f r o m I n s t a l l a t i o n

THE 2021 INSTALLATION PRO AV TECH OUTLOOK TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, DEPLOYMENT, AND THE DRIVERS OF CHANGE IN PROFESSIONAL AV

CONTACT NATHALIE.ADAMS@FUTURENET.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION

In this issue...

LIVE EVENTS SPECIAL 06 Cover story: LED’s night at the opera

With AV set to make an even bigger splash in live events after Covid, and to tie in with our live events special, Installation checked out this amazing use of LED screens, driven by Brompton Technology processing, bringing to life Davide Livermore’s interpretation of Verdi’s Aida at Opera Australia

09 Eventful changes

Chris Ayre, managing director at AYRE Event Solutions, looks at the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the events industry

16 Stadiums resurgent: AV-fuelled renaissance?

After a year in which stadiums were largely silent because of Covid-19, demand for pro AV solutions is returning more quickly than many would have predicted, writes David Davies

20 The show must go on!

P6 LED’S NIGHT AT THE OPERA

OUR COVER STORY SETS THE SCENE FOR OUR EVENTS SPECIAL

The touring and events market has been among the most lucrative businesses in recent years but was dealt a terrible blow by the coronavirus pandemic, says Kevin Hilton

COMMENTARIES & INTERVIEWS 10 Rising to the challenge

Massimo Pizzocri, vice president, video projector sales & marketing division, Epson Europe, speaks to Installation

12 IPMX: the future of AV over IP

The late David Chiappini, executive vice president at Matrox, delivers his last commentary piece for Installation

13 Audio in the post-Covid workplace

Nancy Knowlton, Nureva CEO, looks at the future workplace after Covid, and audio’s place in it

14 Taking control of the best solutions

Jochen Bauer, head of sales and marketing at G&D looks at KVM-over-IP vs classical KVM

54 Inside Track: Jeff Hastings, CEO of Brightsign

P16 STADIUMS RESURGENT

DEMAND FOR PRO AV SOLUTIONS IS ON THE UP AFTER COVID

Jeff talks digital signage evolution, Covid-19, and BYOD

FEATURES & REGULARS 25 Pro AV Watch List 2021

We bring together the key influencers in AV at the

current time: the ones to watch in 2021 and beyond

30 Control rooms: trends & technologies

KVM-over-IP and higher-resolution video is now driving demand,

writes David Davies

34 Education sector schooled in sound benefits

Audio is only now being fully recognised for what benefits it can

bring to pupils and students says Kevin Hilton

38 After the party: viewpoints on ISE 2021

Installation spoke with industry movers and shakers to gauge

opinion on the success of Barcelona, London and ISE Digital

47 Awards 2021

The new Best in Market awards has joined the Best of Show at

ISE gongs. Our panel of independent industry experts made the final winning choices for the Installation magazine categories

50 Stories from the web you may have missed

Some of the best stories featured on the Installation website over

P25 PRO AV WATCH LIST

THE BIGGEST INFLUENCERS IN AV, HAND PICKED BY US

4

www.Installation-International.com

the past few weeks

53 Movers & shakers

A selection of leading appointments in our industry

Feature

LED'S NIGHT AT THE OPERA With AV set to make an even bigger splash in live events following Covid, and to tie in with our live events special, Installation checked out this amazing use of LED screens, driven by Brompton Technology processing, bringing to life Davide Livermore’s interpretation of Verdi’s Aida at Opera Australia

6

www.Installation-International.com

W

ith the live events industry starting to ramp up as Covid vaccinations proliferate and governments around the world begin the slow process of unlocking the figurative doors to a return to live event normality, AV will have a huge part to play; not just in terms of new processes (such as safety) but also in reminding the world just why live events matter.

Brompton Technology has certainly put down a marker for pro display. The company helped Opera Australia (OA) to bring to life Davide Livermore’s interpretation of Verdi’s Aida through a series of giant LED screens driven by Brompton processing and deployed by Big Picture at the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne.

The 175 square metres of UniView Tekken LED screens were arranged in ten LED columns standing seven metres tall, to create an immersive theatrical experience, with "video designs ranging from symbolic pictures to picturesque landscapes of Verdi’s world of Egypt brought to life by 4K Tessera SX40 LED

Case Study l Events Cover Story

“Finally, it needed to be robust enough to be built in large pieces for quick change-overs between shows. Usually, speed and high-res LED are mutually exclusive terms, and it is normally a painstaking and delicate process panel by panel, but luckily the Tekken is well built.”

The next step was to employ the highest level of processing power to deliver the required visual quality.

“We needed something that worked really well at low brightness," adds Bojdak. "We already had a large stock of ROE Black Onyx 2.8 running on Brompton, so we knew what results we could expect from Brompton when coupled with a good high-res product."

Brompton Technology processing drives LED displays for this incredible live performance of Verdi's Aida

processors that conveyed the scale, depth and grandeur of this monumental opera".

DATA STREAMS According to the company, a fully redundant disguise system comprising four GX2c servers managed eight 4K content layers as well as dealing with incoming data streams from OA’s custom Raynok automation system, which was used for individual screen rotation and tracking on and off stage.

“We originally chose the UniView Tekken 3.9 because it fitted a very particular brief that we had been given from Opera Australia during the design process for the Opera Digital Stage,” says Nick Bojdak, technical director, Big Picture. “To work with the automation system, it needed to be relatively light per square metre. It also needed to be high enough resolution for still images to resolve like the painted set pieces found in contemporary theatre productions, so the audience forgot that they were watching video screens.

DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT Initially using Tessera S4 LED processing in the first year of installing the digital environment for Opera Australia, Big Picture subsequently migrated to 4K Tessera SX40 LED processors and Tessera XD 10G data distribution units, adding greater output capacity for larger and more complex productions, according to Brompton.

“The deployment of the XDs via fibre allowed us to decentralise our processing and streamline our system up in the galleries of the Sydney Opera House where space is at an absolute premium," Bojdak reveals.

"The show currently runs with two SX40s and six XDs as its base configuration. Later in 2021, the system will be expanded considerably for Opera Australia's Ring Cycle production in Brisbane."

Bojdak concludes: “The reliability that people have come to expect from Brompton products, coupled with a class-leading level of visual flexibility, colour and detail reproduction at low light levels, continues to make them the ideal choice of LED processor for this highly complex project. We are really proud of our ongoing relationship with Opera Australia, and we are excited that we have finally been able to bring the digital stage environment to Melbourne in 2021 after three successful years in Sydney.

“Brompton’s Tessera processing has proven to be the ultimate tool when it comes to managing LED screens at low brightness, allowing us to get a much clearer and smoother image with enhanced detail in darker areas, achieving unprecedented performance and superior overall visual colour accuracy which completely enveloped the audience in the world of ancient Egypt.”

AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

Or go to: https://bit.ly/3xqVHBm

www.Installation-International.com

7

Commentary | Events

Eventful changes Chris Ayre, managing director at AYRE Event Solutions, looks at the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the events industry

T

he pandemic will come to an end (eventually), and we’ll return back to some normality, but the key learning points we take from this extended period of change will be relevant for many years to come.

It will also have a major effect on the way events, in general, are delivered in the future.

GOING VIRTUAL The majority of the events industry clambered almost overnight in 2020 to ensure they could survive and ‘pivot’ their offering to clients. The problem is, we didn’t take our clients with us. We didn’t develop their understanding of the seemingly ‘new’ technologies which were thrust in front of them.

Clients have only just managed to get their heads around streaming an event online, and what do you know, the likes of Microsoft (Teams), Zoom and platforms such as Hopin understand the value of this. They’re frantically trying to develop new features to offer their clients in the hope they continue to use their technology for future events. The problem is, this technology doesn’t replace in-person events.

IN PERSON In-person events are very sensory-led and can evoke emotion which helps with recall around what attendees might have learned. Ultimately, they can inspire in ways that a virtual event just can’t.

The next battle we’re going to have to endure is transitioning back into ‘normality’. There will be considerations for every element of the event needed now in order to correctly adhere to the

latest restrictions and [evolving] government guidelines.

Not only that, but the change in mentality for many attendees; no longer will people want to be crammed into a stuffy room and sat closely on a table with complete strangers.

It’s likely in the future there will be more demand for larger venues. These may be for events which would otherwise have used a small to medium-sized venue, but could no longer use such venues due to numbers and the potential need for social distancing.

PRICE IMPACTS There’s also the potential for pricing of events to be impacted. The demand is going to be so high, so production companies, venues and general suppliers will likely increase their costs.

On the other hand, production companies may also need to increase their costs because the technical labour (freelance technicians, crew, etc) pool will be lower as many have now left the industry to work elsewhere.

One thing is certain, there will be a big skills gap within the industry but working with a production company who has experience in-house will help reduce the reliance on freelancers and those potential additional costs.

HYBRID BUZZ The natural transition from fully virtual events will be hybrid. Many people still associate hybrids with cars; why wouldn’t you? For the events industry, this term is fairly new.

Hybrid is a mixture of in-person delegates and online (virtual if you like)

delegates. The concept will work for some events, but won’t work for others.

Some clients will pick up the concept really easily, some won’t be able to grasp the meaning at all. This will be the same for delegates. Prior to the pandemic, they would have been used to sitting in a conference suite, now they’re used to accessing an event online.

BUILDING CONFIDENCE This will be the key driver in the return of the events industry in 2021 and beyond. You may have more control measures than a nuclear power station, and think your event is ‘Covid secure’, but unless your audience feels safe to return, they will stay away, no matter what you offer them.

As an industry, we are tactile, creative and gushing with enthusiasm to support our clients. Now more than ever, we need to be there to hold their hand and be flexible as much as they need us to be.

Standing side by side with them, creating contingency plans and guiding them on how to transition back to some form of normality is crucial.

2021 is going to [continue to] be just as challenging as 2020, the only difference is we have more tools in our arsenal, and we now know how to use them.

AVAILABLE ONLINE

If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

If you’re reading our print edition go to: https://bit.ly/3iqI40W

www.Installation-International.com

9

Q&A

Rising to the challenge Massimo Pizzocri, vice president, video projector sales & marketing division, Epson Europe speaks to Installation about projection and pro display tech, climate change and Covid What do you bring to the role of VP? I dislike it when people say I’m in charge. I dislike when people say I am responsible.

I love when people say I take care. Put simply, what I bring to the role of vice president is that I bring myself as a person. I will continue to take care of our customers and of our people.

How did you start out in AV and what advice would you have to those climbing the ladder?

My career at Epson started 21 years ago and I’ve had the pleasure of covering many roles, each with a significant crossover into projection. AV helps people to communicate and connect, but with Epson’s professional display technology, people are given a solution to more specific requirements across everything from immersive experiences or concerts to lecture theatres, museums and so on. Our professional display technology is helping to improve the quality of people’s lives and it’s the most effective display solution for the square metre ratio that’s so often required by live entertainment, visitor attraction and education sectors. No other technology can beat this.Throughout my career, I’ve simply stayed focused on helping Epson to do better, and even as the market leader I still believe we can do better. This is my personal goal and would be my advice to others.

What’s the pandemic been like for you, both personally and professionally?

I live in Lodi, Italy, which is where the first case of Covid-19 was discovered in

10

www.Installation-International.com

Europe after the outbreak in China.

For 20 years now I’ve volunteered for the Red Cross as an evening/night-time ambulance driver. Personally speaking, the pandemic raised a difficult question as to whether I should stop driving the ambulance after 20 years and stay at home, or put on my mask, safety glasses and gloves and continue to do it. I concluded that I had no choice other than to continue to drive the ambulance throughout the lockdowns and I still do to this day.

Professionally speaking, it was a challenge in the beginning. I’m a firm believer that meeting people in-person helps me get to know them better. At the same time, however, there was an opportunity to meet more people virtually. It’s all a matter of how you communicate, and I was used to a certain way of doing things for years.

But we must be open to change, and now

I’ve learned that I can communicate remotely quite effectively, even if I think that nothing beats meeting in person.

In an Epson survey of 2,500 people in Europe, 89 per cent said they miss attending organised events and over nine in ten (92 per cent) said they were looking forward to attending new events once restrictions are lifted. The attendance at Wembley during the Euros is one of many examples of the hunger people have to get out and start enjoying real human interaction again. This was also a very proud time for Italy!

How is Epson tackling climate change via its technology and business approaches?

From the heart and from the core of its technology. For many years now Epson has been working to reduce environmental burdens. I remember back in 2008, before climate change was

Epson tech projecting images onto the sacred walls of Jerusalem

Q&A such a priority for many businesses. I was living in the UK and was responsible for corporate communications, and our global president set up a target of reducing CO2 emissions by 90 per cent across the lifecycle of all products and services by the year 2050.

Now, more than ten years later and we’ve only increased our commitment with the aim of becoming carbon negative and underground resource-free by 2050, reducing our total emissions in line with the 1.5-degree scenario by 2030. We are also planning to spend 100 billion yen (around .75 billion Euros) over the next ten years on decarbonisation. But it has nothing to do with what everyone says. It’s about what we believe, and I believe we can change.

What are your views on the impacts of the pandemic on different sectors that rely on pro display tech (live entertainment, visitor attractions, education, etc)?

The key phrase here is ‘new normal’.

The difficulty is in predicting how this will look, but I don’t think the new normal will remove any of the requirements from these sectors. The hybrid learning and working environments adapted during the pandemic demonstrate additional options, not a substitute of what we had before.

For live entertainment, it is clear people want to go back to this as soon as possible. For visitor attractions, I think we are at the beginning of this journey in terms of exploring the role of AV. For example, there is so much history in Europe that can be enriched with AV and the least invasive application that I can imagine is putting video on top of reality with projection, as it avoids permanently disrupting the surface.

This example was demonstrated at Alexander’s Cathedral in Narva, Estonia, where we projection mapped onto a truly beautiful environment with content that would only ever be possible with projection. Another example is when projection was used to display content onto the walls of Jerusalem, or onto Greece’s government building to celebrate their 200 years of independence earlier this year.

How else can such visual experiences be created in such environments?”

How do you view the role of projection versus flat panel in the future, and how do you intend to tackle this?

There is space for both. Ultimately, the best technology will win based on the customer requirements. But where customers need a larger display, the chances are high that projection will be chosen. We intend to continue meeting the continued demands for projection with effective, reliable, and sustainable solutions for our customers.

What has Epson got planned for this year and next, as we hopefully return to normal?

One of our first concrete plans moving forwards is that we’ve just signed up to ISE in Barcelona in February [2022], where we will show our newest range and meet with our customers. Over the last two-to-three months we’ve seen opportunities through our CRM double in number and in size, a clear sign of the success that lies ahead of us and our customers.

What are your views on this year’s atypical ISE, how it was handled and how it may influence 2022?

Epson didn’t attend these. Like many others, we continue to balance the risks of contamination with the benefits of meeting people, and we felt it was a little early this year to safely meet with people.

However, I think that February will be a good time to meet with our customers.

ISE is a prestigious gathering and has always been a great platform for Epson to engage with the industry. While the volume of attendees in February may not live up to the benchmark set in previous years, we’re confident that most of the key people in the industry will attend.

For live entertainment, people want to go back as soon as possible.

For visitor attractions, I think we are at the beginning of a journey in terms of exploring the role of AV "

READ ONLINE

If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

Or go to: https://bit.ly/2WY5Adx

www.Installation-International.com

11

Commentary In memorandum Commentary:

IPMX: The future of AV over IP A few weeks before his untimely death on July 26, David Chiappini, executive vice president, research and development at Matrox, delivered what would turn out to be his last commentary piece for Installation, on the future of AVoIP. We’re running it here out of respect for David. He will be sorely missed, and would have made the cut for our Pro AV Watch List (see page 25).

Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to David’s family and friends at this difficult time.

T

he first PCs that hit the market were based on proprietary parts and a closed loop of supply. Only when true standards were introduced into the PC space that competition accelerated innovation, and energy was placed on adding value rather than reinventing the foundation.

There is no doubt that open standards drive markets to achieve their full potential, and this same approach can be applied to AV over IP.

OPEN STANDARDS AVoIP is a crowded space filled with proprietary solutions. Some of those solutions are masquerading as standards but are just closed proprietary solutions at their core: locking in customers, suppressing free innovation, and preventing best-of-breed development.

Internet Protocol for Media Experience (IPMX) is the only open standards and specifications-based approach to AV over IP for the pro AV industry. The IPMX initiative originated at the AIMS Alliance and is based on the SMPTE ST 2110 and AMWA NMOS suites of standards. These standards were driven by the need for the IP transition in the broadcast industry, so it was logical to leverage that effort to solve similar problems in pro AV. However, similar problems are not the same problems. SMPTE ST 2110 and NMOS are a great foundation, battle12

www.Installation-International.com

hardened and put through the testing grinder. Pro AV markets look at things differently than broadcast markets do, and so there were some adjustments needed to achieve the experience that has been promised.

What SMPTE and AMWA did well was clearly specify the target behaviours and test them with large groups of manufacturers, installers, and end customers. They brought in broad support from organizations like AIMS, AMWA, VSF, SMPTE, and JT-NM. They added plugfests to help promote interoperability and certification testing to help guarantee the operational quality of product claiming to support the standard.

They generated vast amounts of educational material, ran years of shows and seminars, and continue to do so today. Along with a few others, this same group has jumped in to support getting IPMX out the door in the same way.

EVOLVING SUPPORT IPMX delivers a wide range of everevolving features and benefits. These include the NMOS software control interface that is available on GitHUB; multi-rate network support providing 1 GbE to 100 GbE support and beyond; sub-millisecond latency; multi-AV I/O interfaces like HDMI, DisplayPort, and even HDbaseT; support for compressed and uncompressed interfaces; an

updated security and encryption solution; protected content support with an official HDCP addendum; optional full redundancy and error correction modes; HDR/SDR, EDID, and HDR support.

PROMISING FUTURE Many things have stalled in the last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but not on the IPMX front. Engineering and product manager-types have been toiling away to help build the IPMX standard, and the results are showing! IPMX is generating a lot of interest from the pro AV market that recognises the benefits of deploying open standards-based solutions and from the broadcast market, seeing this as a complementary solution space for some of the simpler tasks and smaller facilities.

There is still work to be done in the coming months to enable IPMX to become the open standard that the professional AV market needs, but the momentum is clear: people are excited by the promises that only true open standards can deliver.

READ MORE ONLINE

An extended version of this commentary is available on our website. To read, click here.

If you’re reading our print edition go to: https://bit.ly/3fx3yYd

Commentary

Audio in the post-Covid workplace Nancy Knowlton, Nureva CEO, looks at the future workplace after Covid, and audio’s place in it

I

f there is one good thing about Covid, it is that it has sped up the move to a hybrid work model.

Certainly, there had been experiments galore or accommodations for special circumstances that 'allowed' working from home (WFH), but Covid-19 proved that WFH is viable and that work can be done by people fully or primarily working away from the office. This shift has been described as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reset work using a hybrid model … allowing us to make our work lives more purposeful, productive, agile and flexible.”(1) HUMAN-CENTRED This last part of the statement is the most exciting aspect of the shift: a change in the nature of work to make it truly human-centred. Whereas in the past, the prime concern was delivering against business needs. Now, thinking appears to be shifting toward deeply considering individual human concerns in that delivery.

Organisations have an opportunity to redefine ways of working, both where work happens and when it is undertaken. Of course, not all work has this flexibility, and flexibility most often has distinct boundaries. For entities that do, the benefits to businesses and their staff are significant.

Technology has long held the promise of making profound and positive changes for people. Now it appears that the time has come for a major step forward. Unlike other occasions where sharp behaviour changes occurred (such as 9/11, for example), it wasn’t long before things reverted to normal;

travel resumed to pre-event levels, and everyone went back to the office.

DIFFERENT STROKES This time it feels different. It’s apparent in the engagement that we have with companies that are planning for the inevitable return to the office. Most commonly, hybrid working means that individuals and teams will have predefined days where they work from home and predefined days when they are co-located with their colleagues in the office.

There is an overt acknowledgement that there will always be some remote team members in every meeting. This is manifested in a couple of ways: all meeting rooms in a company are being outfitted with a full collaboration solution; audio, video and a display.

Other open spaces are being considered as collaboration spaces with mobile solutions that can be available, as and where needed QUALITY AUDIO Quality group audio is fundamental to the experience for remote participants.

Now that everyone has been remote, they know the problems that poor quality audio can cause; wasted time, disrupted meeting flow and frustrated remote participants. Group and personal collaboration tools are taking centre stage for many companies, plus a focus on new collaboration processes.

We are deeply engaged with a number of global companies on their collaboration tools strategies and deployments. Some of the fundamental elements that we have built into our

audio solutions have been repeatedly validated through these engagements.

Our focus on ease of use, ease of deployment and management, integration with other tools and services, continuous autocalibration, intelligent sound targeting and active zone control have made it an easy choice for IT managers to select and deploy broadly across their organisations.

If anyone had told me a couple of years ago that I would spend 14 monthsplus working from home, I would not have believed them. Now that I and our whole team have done that and foresee more WFH time as we more formally adopt a hybrid work style, we have had good time to reflect on collaboration and the tools and resources people need in this new environment. We are living the WFH element of the emerging hybrid way of working. From our perspective, that enables us to directly understand customer needs more acutely while giving us the same opportunity that hybrid promises, for the company and our staff. It’s an exciting time to be creating collaboration solutions and an exciting time to be in business.

(1) “How to Do Hybrid Right,” Lynda Gratton, The Harvard Business Review, May-June 2021, page 68

AVAILABLE ONLINE

If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

If you’re reading our print edition go to: https://bit.ly/3yuylwm

www.Installation-International.com

13

Commentary

Taking control of the best solutions Jochen Bauer, head of sales and marketing at Guntermann & Drunck looks at KVM-over-IP vs classical KVM, and discusses what is the best solution for control room applications

B

eing deeply rooted in control room applications, KVM systems provide an ideal basis for the flexible, distributed switching of computer signals. They are successfully applied in a wide range of control room applications such as critical control rooms like traffic control, railway, public safety as well as broadcast control rooms, industrial automation control and marine applications. For years, AV and IT applications have been merging more and more. Control rooms are gradually IT based, so managing and monitoring IT more efficiently is becoming increasingly important. KVM systems offer an excellent basis for operating various heterogeneous systems on a homogeneous user platform. They become the backbone of the entire IT infrastructure in control rooms and ensure perfect system interoperability.

Generally, one distinguishes between classical KVM systems and KVM-over-IP. But what technology is the better choice for your control room application? What are the differences, what benefits and challenges do they have, and what should you keep in mind when choosing a KVM system for your project?

INFRASTRUCTURE BACKBONE KVM systems enable you to remove the powerful control room servers from the working area. For this purpose, computers are usually moved out in access-protected and air-conditioned areas. From the equipment room, fibre optics, CAT cables or IP structures extend the computer signals back to the workplaces. Particularly with regard to

14

www.Installation-International.com

the current pandemic, KVM allows users to be even further separated from each other by enabling them to work in other premises, while still getting full access to all the systems they need. Thanks to KVM, operators have uniform access to the most diverse systems. In other words, the entire control room team still has access to the remote computer technology, in real time and at full performance.

TRANSMISSION TECH The most important difference between classical KVM and KVM-over-IP is the type of transmission technology.

Classical KVM uses dedicated cabling meaning that a dedicated network is usually set up for these systems. This way, the available bandwidth can be optimally utilised without other networkcapable devices taking up bandwidth for themselves. The staff benefits from optimum performance combined with best possible image quality and a perfect user experience.

One should also keep in mind that thanks to the standard transmission technology, a possibly already existing in-house cabling infrastructure can still be used or even be expanded. Last but not least, classical KVM systems ensure fully secure access thanks to the complete control of the transmission medium.

IP-based KVM systems have been gaining in importance for years. Many control room applications also benefit greatly from the use of IP. Using existing cabling, switches and routers does not only save costs, but also provides

operators and administrators with flexibility and ease of use. KVM-over-IP is established on standard IP-based networks and offers ideal solutions for working in network structures.

Together with a series of IP extenders, G&D’s ControlCenter-IP forms a powerful matrix granting any connected operator station access to any remote computer. While the network infrastructure takes over the transport of KVM-over-IP packets using network switches and routers, the ControlCenter-IP contributes the logic.

Transmission takes place compressed via CAT cabling or optical fibres via standard IP-based networks on layer 3, even beyond sub networks.

Being able to use standard network components makes employing KVM-over-IP particularly interesting because existing IT installations can be scaled more easily, flexibly and costeffectively. Existing structures can also be used depending on the demands of the application.

POWER PLAY IP networks are becoming increasingly powerful. Network infrastructure for 10 Gbit, 40 Gbit or even 100 Gbit bandwidth are no longer an exception.

This means that there is usually sufficient bandwidth to easily scale IT installations and implement them over IP. Control room operators and system administrators are familiar with IP and many of them already use IP structures for various applications through the whole control room. Therefore, KVMover-IP is a logical next step in the

Commentary development of fully IT-based structures in control rooms.

As a pioneer in the KVM industry, G&D develops solutions for both classical KVM and KVM-over-IP. We offer KVMover-IP extender systems for DP1.1, DP1.2, DVI and DL-DVI video signals.

Due to predefined IP addresses, plug and play is supported for both console and computer modules.

By using existing network infrastructures in a 1:1 connection, it couldn’t be easier to put the modules into operation. With the help of a control unit, the ControlCenter-IP, the extenders can be operated in matrix mode. With this powerful matrix system, signals can be distributed and shared as desired within the LAN infrastructure. Now users at every connected console can be provided with access to every remote computer.

COMPRESSED DATA Transmission takes place compressed and IP-based with a data transmission rate of up to 10 Gbit/s per line via ethernet networks. For existing infrastructures with smaller bandwidths, several KVM devices can be bundled, depending on the application requirements. Here, the bandwidth per route can be reduced to approximately 300 to 500 Mbit. So even a network with limited uplinks based on 1 GBit/s can be sufficient to operate small KVM installations over IP. Particularly with regard to pandemic aspects, KVM-over-IP allows users to be even further separated from each other by enabling them to work in other premises, while still giving them full access to all the systems they need.

Thus, operator can access their remote computers via KVM technology and work in real time and at full performance.

The obvious question now is how team members are able to remotely access a KVM-over-IP system and the underlying computing landscape from home.

G&D‘s solution for this issue is called RemoteAccess-GATE. The standalone device links the KVM system to the network world, providing remote access to the IT infrastructure connected to the KVM system via LAN, WAN and the Internet. G&D's RemoteAccess-GATE

supports working remotely from home offices in the most efficient way and also improves collaboration within teams.

Of course, the device meets the highest security requirements. Security features include AES encryption, LDAP, active directory and RADIUS directory server integration, user and group privileges, IP access control, log-in limitations, KVM session encryption, SSL certificates, configurable security banner, monitoring protocol, SNMP/ Syslog event logging and notifications as well as secure passwords.

CLASSIC CHOICE When should you use classical KVM and when is KVM-over-IP the better choice?

Unfortunately, there is no universal answer to this question as selecting KVM systems always depends on the individual project parameters and preferences. KVM-over-IP offers many opportunities to organise work and workflows in a resource-saving and costefficient way.

The technology enables flexible, reliable and highly secure infrastructures by creating user-friendly systems that are intuitive to use and easily scalable as needed. On the other side, with classical KVM systems, users benefit from optimum performance and best possible image quality, making classical KVM the preferred choice for many control room applications.

INDIVIDUAL REQUIREMENTS Depending on the application, it may be worth comparing classical KVM systems with KVM-over-IP. However, it is not possible to generally recommend one or the other system, since each project is based on individual requirements and framework conditions.

In addition to parameters, which are decisive based on the given infrastructure or objective, subjective factors also play a major role.

For years, AV and IT applications have been merging.

Control rooms are gradually IT based, so managing IT more efficiently is becoming increasingly important "

READ ONLINE

If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

Or go to: https://bit.ly/3jmUeal

www.Installation-International.com

15

Feature

STADIUMS RESURGENT? HIGH HOPES FOR AN AV-FUELLED RENAISSANCE After a year in which stadiums were largely silent because of Covid-19, demand for pro AV solutions appears to be returning more quickly than many would have predicted or hoped, writes David Davies

A

s 2020 got underway there was every indication that it was going to be a milestone year for stadiums worldwide. On the sporting front, the calendar promised huge venue-filling events such as the Tokyo Olympics and Euro 2020, while in the US the continued buoyant health of college sports was enabling a flurry of new-builds or refurbishments.

Meanwhile, on the music and entertainment side, the suspicion that many of the most successful heritage acts might finally be nearing the end of the road could be deduced by the large number of international tours on the books.

Then the pandemic struck and, in a matter of weeks, the events calendar suddenly looked very different.

Lockdowns began and many planned installation projects were also put on hold. “Pretty much all prospects halted, or at best were delayed,” recalls James King, director of marketing, Martin Audio. “With such uncertainty about changing conditions and operating circumstances, it became clear that large scale projects were simply not feasible.”

As time has gone by and there has been more clarity around on-site work that can take place, some stadium projects have resumed. In early 2021 as vaccine rollout began, there were some moves to draw up schedules for spring/summer; this proved to be overly optimistic as further waves of the virus led to many events being rolled over to later this year or 2022. However, the outlook for sports is now looking considerably brighter, with the delayed Euro 2020 tournament having been a resounding success, with huge crowds at some venues, and the Olympics brightening the sports calendar in late July and early August, ahead of the return of English Premier League football and the pull of Kane, Grealish, et al.

But if the management of fans inside stadiums is going to remain a source of concern for the foreseeable 16

www.Installation-International.com

future, it seems there is cause for optimism in other departments. In fact, interest in new AV solutions has returned over the last three to four months to a degree that has taken many by surprise. As Dan Palmer, L-Acoustics business development manager for sports facilities, remarks: “We have been very pleasantly surprised to see how fast things are ramping up in terms of projects going forward again. Q2 we think will be off the charts regarding demand for our products.”

Sports might be the main driver at present, but music events are also returning, so all in all “a post-pandemic renaissance is quite likely,” he suggests.

SALES CAVEAT There is a caveat to be added here in that some parts of the sector are expecting a surge in sales on the basis that the one to two-year period preceding the pandemic had not been especially busy for stadium installs. Meanwhile, In Europe, a cycle of upgrades that had begun during the mid 2000s had largely been completed, although there were tentative signs that demand was about to climb again.

The kind of view expressed by King is not uncommon. “Prior to the pandemic we were starting to see more prospects of stadia and being invited to pitch for more projects,” he says. “This was an encouraging sign, largely driven [in our case] by the success of weatherised and standard CDD [loudspeakers] for smaller outdoor and indoor stadia, and the interest in our Wavefront Precision optimised line array series for larger projects. Projected stadium revenue at that stage was a much smaller part of our overall planning, and due to the long-term nature of these projects (anywhere between 12 and 36 months) it’s always seen as an outlier and bonus; a very nice bonus all the same.”

With clarity regarding Covid regulations improving over time, a good portion of previously in-progress

Amsterdam ArenA, home to AFC Ajax and concerts from the likes of Coldplay and U2, is fortified sonically by a d&b audio system

Feature

installations were able to continue. Notes Palmer: “If [a venue had] already assigned a budget to a project, it was likely that they would take advantage of the downtime. If a shovel was in the ground those projects tended to move forward with all [Covid safety] protocols in place.”

Demand for new visual and display technologies appears to have been consistently good pre-pandemic, driven by the benefits of energy-efficient technology and higher resolution pixel pitches. Rob Bint, director of LED display company VOD-Visual, can attest to that: “We had been extremely busy fulfilling orders in the run-up to the pandemic, but then it did go very quiet.

But as of a few months ago, we have seen a [return of demand] as more people decided that they would go ahead with new projects, not least because it’s easier to get the work done when there are hardly any people there! So the stock is now beginning to go out of the door again, with our smaller pitch perimeter LED products in greatest demand.”

RESURGENCE RATE The view that the market began to pick up again this spring is echoed – to a greater or lesser extent – by other interviewees. Nonetheless, there is an acknowledgement that stadiums will remain somewhat volatile as a market for the foreseeable

future, and that where projects are green-lit there is a chance that they will be smaller in scope and/or more cost-focused than might otherwise have been the case.

Matt Wilson, director of marketing at US-based AV systems designer and integrator McCann Systems, is among the most upbeat. “The sector is fine,” he asserts. “Fans are eager to get back, and arenas are waiting to welcome them back to clean, safe, fun experiences. The technology is continually improving and fans want to play along, so you’ll see more entertainment multi-use spaces built into stadiums.”

For VOD-Visual, Bint notes that the US market has come back more quickly than some other territories, but now another consequence of the pandemic is being felt – namely the global chip shortage that most experts predict will last into mid-2022. “It’s having a huge impact on the industry,” he confirms. “Some suppliers are not even taking orders until next year and cannot tell you when they think there will be availability again. So that is going to slow down a lot of people.”

Whilst he does not observe any real impact on major new venue projects with established timescales, d&b audiotechnik director Stephen Hogg indicates that there is reason to expect a slowdown in refurbishments: “Loudspeaker upgrade programmes may be postponed until the effects of Covid and government guidance on capacities and the return of consistent

www.Installation-International.com

17

Feature revenue streams becomes clearer. There is also some indication that venue owners and operators are reconsidering the future experience they will need to provide to their communities, as well as identifying additional opportunities for developing revenue.”

For UK-based AV sales and installation company RG Jones, communications director Sarah Gellas observes: “I think there are about the same number of opportunities as there have always been. Some projects have been cancelled or delayed, but others have been given grants or taken the time to re-evaluate their business and have identified new AV requirements to meet their new demands.”

It is left to King at Martin Audio to voice the strongest note of caution. “There is still significant unease about investing in new stadium projects and infrastructure, including upgrades,” he says. “With such uncertainty regarding different localities and conditions, as well as how soon full capacity crowds can return to maximise any investment it is going to be a long road approach.

Indeed, in our most recent survey asking our customers which applications would return quickest from the pandemic, stadium installs was considered the least likely of 15 applications offered. Therefore, our approach is a pragmatic one of engagement and support for stadium projects, but they provide more of a bonus revenue consideration rather than one we rely upon to sustain and grow the business.”

INFORMED FACTORS Where work is going forward at present, it’s likely to be informed by at least a couple of newer factors. Quality of experience has always been a focus, but it’s going to have to be even more acute to lure some visitors – now used to spending the vast majority of their time indoors – back on-site. Similarly, the high-quality home technology that has helped so many of us get through the pandemic is likely to mean we have higher expectations of in-stadium AV. One consequence of this is set to be further investment in various immersive audio and video technology. Notes King: “The emergence of 3D sound immersion has been a growing trend of the last five years, and something we took onboard in partnership with Astro Spatial for our Sound Adventures programme.” That said, it still tends to be more of a priority in traditional live event venues, such as theatres and concert halls, as opposed to stadiums “where the need for high quality coverage, clarity, and impact for crowd is still the primary factor.”

For L-Acoustics, Palmer also indicates the enduring nature of core audio requirements, such as consistent performance and robust construction. Hence the popularity of products like the A10 medium throw line source loudspeaker, whuich he describes as a “fantastic new product that an incredible ‘bang for the buck’.” Able to be flown or stacked in combinations to form vertical or horizontal line sources, or used 18

www.Installation-International.com

individually as configurable directivity point sources, the product resonates with the need for loudspeakers to be “completely multifunctional” and easily adjusted to complement different event types.

For d&b, Hogg agrees that there is a trend towards immersive experiences, specifically those “reflecting the allegiance of match day crowds”. But the longstanding focus of stadium customers on audio clarity and ease of use remains pivotal. “The trend towards high performance loudspeaker systems – easily managed, controlled and reconfigured to meet the demand for flexible solutions – continues.”

VERSATILE SYSTEMS The expectation that new systems be versatile and supportive of use in both sports and music is echoed by Jack Drury, who heads market development – artist and entertainment relations at Shure UK. Prior to the pandemic, the microphone and personal monitoring company had just completed “a buy-back programme for wireless microphone users whose systems were affected by the 5G auctions [of the 700 MHz band].

Meanwhile, we have seen a continuing rise in demand for our Axient Digital wireless systems, for which we have recently added a version of the Q5X PlayerMic bodypack transmitter for more comfortable usage. As well as the sound quality and performance of the Axient Digital products, the inclusion of Dante/AES67 ports makes it very suitable for [networked environments].”

Meanwhile, the push towards comprehensive networked environments is as prominent in stadium AV as any other sector. As King remarks: “It is certainly more popular nowadays to create a wholistic approach to networking within larger venues; be that stadiums or any other venue. This simply allows the integrators and support staff to better manage and control the AV systems and allow that control to take place remotely, which given the pandemic has been key and will be moving forward.

"All of our electronics that drive the systems best suited to installation in stadiums are network controllable, both from our own proprietary application VU-NET and third-party controllers.

We also benefit from networked audio, using Dante across our iKON amplifiers and DX4.0 processors, and allowing the integrator to send audio and control down the same network.”

LOCKDOWN EVALUATION Away from the actual stadium bowl, there are indications that stadium owners have also been using the lockdown to evaluate their other methods of making money. Providing conference facilities has been one common revenue stream in recent years, but changing working practices mean that demand here is likely to evolve once more.

Hospitality and VIP rooms, however, do seem to be the subject of a growing number of installs as 2021

Feature [venues] are offering less tech and they’ll continue to explore innovative AV ideas.”

Hence while “the arms race for bigger and better will continue, there will still be more smaller-scale audio-visual interactions with fans.” Examples might include digital signage and wayfinding infrastructure that enables a quicker and more seamless change of messaging, while Wilson alludes to recent projects that have involved suites turning into ‘fan caves’ and entrance spaces being equipped with LED tunnels.

The Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, shining bright thanks to its L-Acoustics sound system installation

progresses. “We have sold more systems into hospitality spaces lately,” confirms Bint, adding that “there is a desire [by some customers] to upgrade the quality of the technology available to hospitality clients.”

While conferencing has done good business for many stadiums in recent years, Shure UK systems group regional sales manager John Ellis forecasts a steady recalibration of requirements. “There has been a big change in the corporate market as a result of the pandemic, with more [conventional] conference rooms starting to be turned into full-on collaboration spaces,” he says.

Consequently, there is a trend towards combining a few smaller rooms into a larger collaboration environment in which the AV technology is increasingly high-end, notes Ellis: “With collaboration spaces there is a demand for very high quality video, cameras and audio. From our perspective as a microphone manufacturer, this means a move away from handheld mics towards ceiling array microphones.”

FAN ZONES Market watchers should also expect a continued emphasis on engagement that spans everything from event-driven entertainment zones to the ability of sports fans, in particular, to view replays or additional content via stadium WiFi with minimal latency as an event is in progress. In short, getting fans in earlier and keeping them engaged for longer is critical, and bound to become even more so as venues strive to retain advertisers in a more challenging economy.

McCann’s Wilson remarks: “It’s easy to think of scoreboards and huge speakers when talking stadiums, but there are so many more technology touchpoints with fans, employees and even engaging people who aren’t inside the gates. None of these

SPORTING CALENDAR Whilst the eventual resumption of a normal sporting calendar seems probable, there is more cause to question the outlook for live music in stadiums. The fact that so many venue-packing heritage acts were undertaking or contemplating final tours was troubling promoters before the pandemic.

In the interim there has been a trend towards older acts selling their song catalogues to one of the new generation of music IP investment firms such as Hipgnosis Songs Fund; presumably concluding that one last big payday is hard to resist if touring is going to be unpredictable for some time. So now the issue is whether some of the largest older acts are genuinely ‘done’, and whether there are enough younger performers who are capable of filling 50,000-plus seats every time.

Whilst acknowledging that we “will see a shift” in the kinds of acts visiting stadiums, Drury is optimistic that the sector will remain very viable for music events. “I think that music is so ingrained in who we are as a species that the live music industry can never ‘fail’ as such,” he says. “However, the artists playing large venues are changing and that has implications for the audio. More and more it’s not a big rock & roll sound, but quite whispered vocals in which there is likely to be a lot of crowd noise going through the microphones. Billie Eilish would be a good example. So that does require thought in terms of microphone structure, directionality, rejection and so on.”

No doubt that transition will be accomplished in time.

Indeed, despite the present challenges, there is a feeling of returning enthusiasm about how the stadium AV sector might develop over the next few years. As Palmer concludes: “Let the renaissance begin. I cannot wait to see how this all comes together and welcome the challenge to support it.”

AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

Or go to: https://bit.ly/3xpARCF

www.Installation-International.com

19

Feature

THE SHOW MUST GO ON The touring and events market has been among the most lucrative businesses in recent years but was dealt a terrible blow by the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin Hilton looks at what this has meant for the people working in this sector and how the technology behind it all has been developing

20

www.Installation-International.com

B

efore 2020 came along, it would have been strange to think that internationally recognised and long running music festivals such as Glastonbury, Roskilde, Tomorrowland, Creamfields and Montreux or high-profile tours by the likes of Genesis, The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, The Killers, Elton John and Taylor Swift could be taken for granted.

When all of these – plus countless corporate productions and sporting tournaments – were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was the realisation of just how much live shows are a key leisure activity for so many people. It also became apparent (if it had not been already), to all but those in government, that performance staging is a major industry, employing thousands of people and generating billions of pounds/dollars in business.

We Make Events, a collective formed by rental companies, musicians, technicians and trade bodes such as PLASA to campaign on behalf of personnel and highlight the importance of this sector, is still concerned that a significant proportion of freelancers have had to

Feature

leave the industry and will not return. Among the founders was Andy Dockerty, managing director of leading UK rental company Adlib. He comments that Covid has decimated a sector that was only getting bigger and more profitable.

"We had been seeing a 14 per cent a year growth in recent years," he says. "For the year 2018-19 the events and touring market was the largest growing sector in the UK business community. The amount of investment was about £4 million a year in stock alone.

Everything had been growing very nicely and then it largely disappeared overnight."

View from the stage at the 2021 West Lake Music Festival in China, which employed a KV2 VHD5 point source system

SHOW BACKERS There are signs that concerts and tours are returning, with shows that had been due to take place in 2020 rescheduled for either the end of this year or into next.

There were try-outs last year with socially distanced gigs, where limited numbers of people were allowed in a venue. While these provided some employment for crew and entertainment for fans keen to see live music again, they were not regarded as serious alternatives to what had gone before, or, crucially, financially viable.

At the time of the conversation with Dockerty there was still no clear indication whether venue capacity would be 50 or 100 per cent, certainly as far as the UK was concerned. Dockerty observed that the cancellation of many festivals had effectively put paid to the usually lucrative summer season but the traditional touring period towards the end of the year into 2022 could see improvement, perhaps considerably if there were no more lockdowns, but it was still uncertain.

Key to making shows happen is the experienced and enthusiastic workforce supporting the performers.

Sound engineers, lighting technicians and other technical personnel through to warehouse and transportation staff have been hit hard, with very few, if any, being eligible for government support. This has meant, Dockerty says, they have gone elsewhere: "Some have transferred their organisational skills to something like the building sector and found they are earning more money and working shorter hours.

Others have been working more mundane jobs, such as deliveries for Amazon, but are reluctant to leave until they see what is going to happen in production. We have also lost some of our senior technicians to IT and software companies. Again, they're now making more money than they would in touring and never have to leave the house again."

All of which sounds very gloomy. But, live events is now a huge sector, one that has been hugely profitable for promoters, production and hire companies and equipment manufacturers alike. It has also developed and changed over the years; because of where it has got to due to that flexibility, we can assume that companies will want to protect their investments, adapting to the new landscape of the sector.

The uncertainty of how many people will be in audiences does not appear to be an issue for some, at least on a technical level. Remi Vaucher, product manager for performance loudspeakers and senior technical director of the live sound core team at QSC, says that modern audio technology is geared more to the size of a venue than how many people are in it.

"The deployment of our sound systems is mainly dependent on the total audience area, regardless of the actual occupancy, be it 50, 75 or 100 per cent capacity," he says. "As large indoor venues and stadiums are not extensible, I do not think PA system requirements will be much different post-Covid. There have been experiments during the pandemic with 'drive-in' concerts and low audience density outdoor events in large venues; but those will not last much longer because the market is recovering and these systems are a little impractical and more expensive to deploy."

Vaucher comments that tours, big sports events and shows are reappearing with "more or less the same shape" as before. "Some events still have their capacity somewhat capped but generally the vaccination checks allow [most] to work at full capacity," he says. "I expect to return to normal operation quite soon now."

Prior to the various lockdowns, QSC had been seeing "more and more complex" systems being deployed, with installers and other customers looking for more control and monitoring functionalities, as well as preventative maintenance solutions.

These are still early days in the return to large-scale tours and live shows. Simon Purse, product support engineer at Martin Audio, says such events are only starting to return and many have been going ahead with social distancing. While the audience size has changed, Purse says system design has to meet the same requirements as before, including adherence to noise pollution regulations. "A system capable of covering 100m +/—3dB while adhering to offsite noise restrictions must meet these demands whether the crowd is 10 or 10,000 people. We generally design systems to meet the site requirements rather than the size of the audience. Noise pollution is a concern at these outdoor events and our optimised line array technology often offers our customers an advantage."

NOISE MANAGEMENT Ed Jackson, manager of the EMEA applications team for HarmanPro, explains that "off-site noise management" is less of a problem in the US, where there's more space. "In Europe and the UK, festivals inevitably are going to be [closer to] local residents," he says, "so promoters have to consider the laws and noise regulations, which means the audio companies and PA manufacturers have to think about it as well."

Part of this, Jackson says, is ensuring the physical characteristics of the loudspeaker cabinet are "as

www.Installation-International.com

21

Feature accurate as possible", which will help in focusing energy to where it should be going. He also observes that the live music scene has changed considerably, to where multi-act bills are more the norm. "Conventional touring, where one band takes equipment around a whole load of stadiums, is something only the biggest artists can justify now," he explains. "The touring industry in Europe has become based around festivals, so many artists are using other providers' equipment rather than carrying their own sound."

As Cédric Montrezor, executive director of application projects at loudspeaker developer L-Acoustics, observes, the requirements of big events were beginning to change prior to Covid. "When it comes to festivals and major tours, bigger is often the goal," he says. "But leading into 2020, we were seeing more emphasis on 'better' experiences, rather than just bigger experiences."

Montrezor explains that this is linked to the "growing acceptance" of immersive sound, which is used to give audiences a greater connection to the show.

Pre-pandemic L-Acoustics had supplied its L-ISA 3D audio system for 6,000 shows with a "natural, enveloping sound". It was also used for corporate presentations, including BMW China's launch of its new all-electric SUV, which called for engine noises to envelope the audience and track the vehicle's movements in real time.

"The key word post-Covid is 'flexibility'," Montrezor says. "Possibilities for live events change rapidly from region to region and week to week. Our industry has shown that they are up to the challenge and we are seeing creative solutions like the party pods at Australia's Summer Sounds festivals, where Novatech Creative Event Technology took advantage of the pods to dissimulate Syva collinear arrays for delays."

GROWING EVENTS Martijn van Overveld, senior marketing manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Bosch (owner of the Electro-Voice and Dynacord brands), also acknowledges that the events market was growing pre2020, which increased the demand for professional sound systems in both touring and installation. "There were many opportunities in the fixed install – sports venues, theatres, auditoria – and live markets, [with the latter covering] regional and international conferences, festivals and concerts," he says. "For events that relied on installed house systems at venues such as stadia, a lot of upgrade projects were put on hold during the pandemic. With these venues open and budgets once again becoming available, we are starting to see these projects coming back online."

A feature of this kind of project, van Overveld adds, is the need for energy efficient systems, plus advanced integration of paging and even voice alarm (VA) into the main system. On the other side of live sound, he says it is important for rental companies to have their gear out 22

www.Installation-International.com

on the road to make money. "This requires a system that is capable of delivering the power and quality with enough headroom, yet does not overshoot the needs of high investment. Which is where we see a trend towards versatile and powerful line array systems."

DOMINANT SYSTEMS The line array has, over the last 30 years, become the basis for most touring and big outdoor event or installed systems. Simon Purse at Martin Audio agrees that line arrays are "the dominant systems for large festival sites", with optimisation technology developing to allow engineers to improve parameters such as the direct to reverberant ratio in difficult venues or reaching high SPLs at front-of-house, keeping off-site noise low.

Remi Vaucher of QSC agrees that line arrays are "still the go-to solution for most of the large-scale event applications", especially when it comes to live concerts and festivals. "In the installation business, the situation is more diversified," he continues. "According to the size of the venue [and its] location and the preference of the integrator/consultant, there could be some significant differences in the sound systems selected. Many consultants still like to work with large point source loudspeakers for the directivity control they provide at low frequencies. I don't see this as a 'comeback' for point source but more recognising a technical solution that is more adapted to some applications."

L-Acoustics is generally considered the pioneer of line arrays but Cédric Montrezor feels the choice of system technology should not be too rigidly influenced: "It's really a question of choosing the right tool for the job at hand. We ensure that all of our products have the same sonic signature, from the most modest deployment to the biggest live events. We are already seeing large festivals with full capacity audiences

Above: A 2019 performance during the Karl-May-Spiele theatre festival at the open air Kalkberg Stadium in Bad Segeberg, Germany, featuring Dynacord TS 400 vertical arrays

Feature coming back, like the recent Ubbi Dubbi Festival in Texas or the Download Pilot in the UK. Both used K Series line source arrays, which made sense as we were looking at audiences in the tens of thousands, requiring a very long throw. But when you want to create more of a sense of intimacy, or when your venue dimensions allow you to design a distributed system or an immersive configuration, point source or constant curvature is a great solution."

There has been a perception in live sound, particularly at the top end, that the line array has pushed point source out of the picture but this does appear to be the case. "Point source never really went away, it's always been there," says Ed Jackson at HarmanPro. "We recently did an installation at the London Eye where we put three stages up for the whole summer and had to distribute the system in a way we wouldn't have thought of before. We're using a variety of speakers to fill in all the little gaps as much as we can and when you're doing that, a big line array is not what you want."

Below left: ElectroVoice X2 line array in use at the 2020 socially distanced Shopping Cart Festival in Offenburg Below right: The 2020 Psalms of David Festival in Poland, which used JBL VTX A12 line arrays

ALTERNATIVE OFFER A company that continues to develop point source and offer it as an alternative to the line array is KV2 Audio.

Technical support director Angus Davidson says that the manufacturer has made considerable in-roads into the installation and theatre markets, particularly stage musicals and night clubs. He says KV2 is "in the process" of cracking the touring and big events market but that many big PA companies have already made a financial and reputational commitment to line arrays, giving that technology and its producers a strong hold on the live sector. "But it's our task to keep pushing our product and we are doing that," he says.

A feature of KV2's VHD large format point source system is that most of its signal flow is analogue.

Davidson says the element that is as important as the projection technology is the electronics, with KV2 not using conventional DSP in its designs. "The only digital we use is 20MHz (1-bit) PDM, which is a vastly different technology to PCM DSP, which is used in all commercial audio now," he comments. Davidson acknowledges

this stance has put KV2 out of step with others in the market, which have more readily embraced digital networking, but says the company's new ESP amplifiers are digitally controlled, allowing them to be networked.

The reality is that the large-scale, networked audio world is now, as Martin van Overveld says, "in the digital domain". A key part of this is audio over IP (AoIP), with Audinate's Dante protocol in particular providing the network infrastructure. "Dante is the dominant audio networking choice," he says. "It is also the standard for Bosch because it is part of our OMNEO IP architecture."

Remi Vaucher at QSC says some high-end touring and events companies "are fond of the RAVENNA technology" (the AoIP system developed by Lawo affiliate ALC NetworX but that the market is "massively dominated" by Dante. "Networking requirements are slightly different between live sound applications and fixed installations," he says. "For live sound, robustness, ease of deployment, low latency and high sampling rates are among the main requirements. For fixed installations, additional considerations are ease of maintenance, adoption by IT staff, high sampling rates and super-low latency."

Nick Screen, director of business development for sports and transportation at Harman International, comments that AoIP is now the standard for large installations "and has been for some time", with Dante the most popular format. "Aside from Dante's audio credentials, there have been two other major factors in its success: interoperability between manufacturers and the fact it uses COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) hardware and standard network traffic," he says.

INSTALL UNBIQUITY At Martin Audio, Simon Purse confirms the ubiquity of Dante, particularly in the installation market with a growing presence in touring. "A redundant network is always preferred for mission critical events," he adds, "and often a fall-over is also employed in the unlikely event the redundant network fails. Latency can be a concern but often a complete digital network can reduce AD to DA conversions and lessen the impact of processing time."

The technology is there to make large-scale events happen and will only continue to develop. It is to be hoped that, as the world changes again, its core market will come back again, along with the people it needs to run everything.

AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

Or go to: https://bit.ly/3rTx4MJ

www.Installation-International.com

23

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE Sign up for your FREE digital edition

Get the latest features, interviews, and market insights from the media and entertainment technology industry Get every issue, on the go, wherever you are

And it’s FREE

SIGN UP NOW Online: bit.ly\TVBDIG

INDUSTRY INFLUENCERS

PRO AV

WATCH LIST 2021

In the first ever Pro AV Watch List – a natural evolution of last year's Pro AV Power 20 – we wanted to bring together those who we feel are the biggest influencers in AV at the current time: the ones to watch in 2021 and beyond. Over the next four pages, we celebrate 25 of these influencers: AV's equivalent of the Grammys

IN what has been arguably the most difficult 18 months for pro AV and its various sectors – and the world in general! – it was a pleasure to sit down with our advisory panel and compare notes on who we believe to be the most influential, up and coming industry figures: the ones to watch. Our choice of 25 are listed across the following five pages, in no particular order, and we’re delighted to be able to say that women are in the majority, with 13 out of the 25 boasting two X chromosomes. This is certainly no surprise to us: the AV industry is blessed to have talent in abundance from Eve’s side of the apple tree, and is all the better for it.

Before you read on, we’d just like to take this opportunity to thank our panel for all their hard work in helping to put this Watch List together. Thanks to regular Installation contributors David

Davies and Kevin Hilton; ISE content marketing manager (and a previous Installation editor) Paddy Baker; Systems Contractor News (SCN) content director Megan Dutta (now sadly moving on to pastures new); and Roland Hemming, audio consultant at RH Consulting and director at Copper Leaf Media.

Finally, we were very sad to hear of the death of David Chiappini, AIMS Pro AV working group chair, in the week preceding our press deadline. David was very well regarded in AV circles, and indeed had made the cut for our shortlist of the ones to watch in pro AV. Consequently, we’d be grateful if you would consider this Pro AV Watch List a 25 plus 1, with David’s light still shining very brightly indeed. Our thoughts go out to all of his family and friends at this most difficult time.

www.Installation-International.com

25

Watch List

BRANDY ALVARADO

TOM PUORRO

SEAN WARGO

AVIXA Women's Council chair

Executive VP and general manager Poly

Senior director, market intelligence, AVIXA

Passionate about "creating, engaging, and retaining customers by building strong relationships", she works primarily with architects and consultants.

Strategic IT executive with twenty years of success in global planning, product development, capacity/cost projections, and high performance team management.

Largely responsible for helping AVIXA realise its strategic goal to become the authoritative source for market intelligence in the AV industry.

CHRIS JAYNES Founder and CTO Mersive Technologies

FRANK PADIKKALA New AVIXA Diversity Council chair An AV design engineer and 'IT/AV Evangelist' who places 'innovation' and 'inclusion' at the heart of his design philosophy.

Entrepreneur and 'technology generalist' with experience in multi-media systems, collaboration, video streaming, computer vision, and human commuter interaction. Particularly interested in collaboration software and productivity tools, interactive display and technology-mediated collaboration, interaction, and experience tech. Loves creating new market opportunities that have a positive impact on the world.

Responsible for defining and providing oversight for strategic technology and product development, technical partnership, and intellectual property development. As founder, Chris helped to establish the company vision and its position in the greater technology ecosystem.

ALTHEA RICKETTS

NANCY KNOWLTON

AMNON HARMAN

Leadership selection committee, elected member, AVIXA

President and CEO at Nureva and Nialli Inc

CEO, d&b

Diversity, equity, and inclusion champion, with over 30 years of experience in global marketing and sales support, and a demonstrated history of working audio.

"Deeply engaged" with a number of global companies on their collaboration tools strategies and deployments, Nancy has been CEO at Nureva since 2014.

Over 25 years working in general management, strategy and corporate development, business modelling, mergers & acquisitions and change management.

26

www.Installation-International.com

Watch List

RACHAEL HAMILTON

NICK BELCORE

GINA SANSIVERO

Owner, I am Rachael

Executive vice president at Peerless-AV

VP marketing and corporate comms, AtlasIED

The well known AV figure set up I am Rachael to help the industry to work "harmoniously together and help drive the change needed to future-proof AV".

Resposible for all sales and business development initiatives generated from Peerless Industries worldwide headquarters in Aurora, Illinois.

Recognised in the education market as an AV industry cheerleader and resource, Gina has a history of working with start-ups and SMBs to increase their visibility in AV.

JESSICA GOLDING

JAMIE ADKIN

JAMES HILL

European brand manager at Absen Europe

VP sales EMEA at Adder Technology

Director, Shure UK

Previously B2B marketing manager at BenQ, Jessica made the move to Absen during the pandemic and hasn't looked back since. A rising AV marketing star.

Sharing Adder's KVM solutions with integrators, consultants and customers, Jamie's goal is to develop a "deeper understanding of our customers needs".

With huge amounts of sales expertise (previously head of sales at Panasonic Business Europe), James is integral to Shure UK and pro audio in general.

STEFANIE CORINTH

JOSHUA RUSH

HAILEY KLEIN

Senior VP, sales, EMEA, SharpNEC

Chief marketing officer, Audinate

Director of marketing and communications at PSNI Global Alliance

Moving up last year from her previous position as SVP marketing and business development manager at NEC, Stefanie now heads up sales at SharpNEC.

Senior vice president of marketing and product development until May of this year, Joshua recently delivered a commentary piece to Installation on the evolution of AV.

Director of marketing and communications since 2016, Hailey is incredibly well regarded, and was one of the first on our panel's shortlist of heavy hitters.

www.Installation-International.com

27

Watch List

EMMA BIGG

JAMES KIRBY

AMELIA KALLMAN

Owner/director and AV designer and strategist, Octavius RE

Senior market analyst, pro audio, Futuresource Consulting

Futurist, keynote speaker, author

Designs commercial AV systems and advises clients on AV procurement and maintenance strategy, audio a speciality.

Regular contributor to Installation.

Specialising in pro audio, James has an in-depth and informed understanding of market dynamics and is a regular contributor to Installation magazine.

An innovation and technology communicator who consults brands, agencies, and governments on the impact of new technologies.

AMANDA WILDMAN Co-owner, Tru Media TruMedia is a family owned business (co-owned by hubby Ponch Wildman) providing home automation systems, home theatre systems and custom integration in West Michigan.

Amanda is a technology designer with a "passion to educate others on how technology can be fun and truly enhance their lives". She believes that technology just for technology's sake is a waste... if it isn't easy to use and life-enhancing "through efficiency or just plain joy", then it's just "taking up space".

"I am blessed with new opportunities every day to use my education and experience to meet people and create personalised custom home and commercial systems for them."

OLA SARS Founder, CEO, and chairman, Soundtrack Your Brand Music entrepreneurs Ola Sars and Andreas Liffgarden formed the company with a number of investors including Spotify. A growing influence in AV.

CORY SCHAEFFER

TONI MOSS

TIM ALBRIGHT

Director, alliances & ecosystem, QSC

Owner/CEO CDEC

Chief marketing officer at Conference Technologies, Inc

Joined CDEC in 2003, and has crafted excellent relationships with top brands within the AV industry. On a mission to continue putting customers first.

Mostly known for running AVNation, an "ongoing effort to create high quality broadcasts for the audio-visual industry", Tim is a well respected figure.

Sits on the CompTIA Council for Advancing Women in Technology and leads the Southern California AVIXA Women's Group. Founding member of Women in AV.

28

www.Installation-International.com

Feature

TAKING CONTROL

THE TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIES DRIVING DEMANDS FOR CONTROL ROOM SOLUTIONS Industry 4.0 and the need to accommodate increased flexibility and remote working are among the factors informing the latest generation of KVM control room solutions, with KVM over IP and higher-resolution video now driving demand, writes David Davies

30

www.Installation-International.com

Feature

is surely here to stay in this new era of hybrid working.

But there are also signs of a further ramping-up of security provisions in light of a wave of major cyber-attacks targeting sectors such as energy and food production.

G&D’s Control Center Xperience (CCX) allows a permanently installed control room to be experienced in real-time – including remotely via livestream

I

t should come as no surprise to discover that control system requirements for industrial control rooms and other related environments have always been uniquely exacting. From nuclear power stations to manufacturing facilities, the stakes can be extremely high in terms of performance, operability, stability and – last but definitely not least – security.

Several primary trends have impacted upon what – for the purposes of conciseness in this article – we are going to label the ‘control room’ market. Decades on from when the term first entered popular currency, KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) hardware switching remains a prominent technology, enabling users to control multiple computers from one or more sets of keyboards, video monitors and mice. During the past ten years or so, the advent of IP-based KVM solutions has brought a new level of flexibility to control room applications; especially those where usage patterns are more complex or there is an acute need for effective remote working.

No prizes for guessing that remote working has become an even greater priority for many industrial customers over the past 18 months; a requirement that

LEADING PLAYER Based in the city of Siegen, Guntermann & Drunck GmbH (G&D) has been a leading player in the provision of KVM solutions for well over 30 years. Today it serves myriad applications – ranging from airport control towers to industrial facilities, maritime environments and broadcast – with the consistent underlying premise that KVM can allow customers in every sector to “make the most of any IT installation,” says G&D director sales & marketing Jochen Bauer. “That applies whether you want to operate several hundred computers from one workstation, or have extended access to computers to up to 10,000 metres.”

Reflecting on the last half-decade of control technology progress, G&D field application engineer Andreas Gerlach places many of these developments in the context of industry 4.0. Sometimes also referred to as the 'fourth industrial revolution', this trend concerns the ongoing automation of manufacturing and industrial applications. It typically includes developments such as the internet of things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, as well as assorted smart technologies that can monitor, analyse and diagnose potential problems without the need for human input.

“With Industry 4.0 you have this move towards more interconnection throughout [a facility] as well as stronger and more reliable network operations,” explains Gerlach. “This is resulting in a greater deployment of IP-based processes, and of course KVM is part of that too. In addition, there are other trends that are influencing our development of technology such as virtualisation and cloud computing, which are going to lead to more hybrid installations.

For example, you might have your physical computers on-site, but for emergency purposes and some specific control processes these will be combined with cloud and virtualisation.”

CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES With an awareness of both the options now facing customers and the challenging circumstances of the pandemic, G&D’s latest developments include the Control Center Xperience (CCX) and its related demonstration capabilities. Formally launched last November, CCX allows a permanently installed control room to be experienced in real time, including remotely via livestream. Demo appointments allow potential customers to explore how various systems and technologies interact, with G&D personnel able to guide them towards a suitable solution.

www.Installation-International.com

31

Feature “It gives a lot of scope for customers to explore how different control room configurations can work, and from our perspective makes it easier to give detailed advice to customers in Europe and elsewhere,” says Bauer.

Meanwhile, products such as the award-winning RemoteAccess-CPU modules acknowledge the trend towards integrating virtual machines in KVM installations and then operating them remotely. The modules establish a connection between matrix systems and virtual machines, which can be accessed remotely via network protocols such as RDP, VNC and SSH. “This way,” notes Gerlach, “hybrid systems with real and virtual computer infrastructures can be optimally implemented.”

REMOTE ACCESS Another recent launch, RemoteAccess-GATE, means that customers can remotely operate KVM systems over the Internet, LAN or WAN. A standalone device that connects the “two worlds” of KVM and networks, the solution provides unblocked-BIOS (basic input/output system) level access to connected computers worldwide. Especially in the context of Covid-19, notes Gerlach, “the ability to link company sites around the world and access computer systems at different locations from anywhere is becoming more important than ever.”

Looking ahead, Bauer anticipates that the demand for KVM over IP solutions will continue to rise as fully networked environments become even more widespread: “There is no doubt that scalability and flexibility are in general much easier to achieve via an IP network, and I think those factors are going to remain very important for control room environments."

In the meantime, G&D continues to add prestigious new credits to its project roll-call, including a recent control room installation for an oil exploration company.

The programme of work centred upon an onshore collaboration centre that has been devised to allow for better collaboration as well as more efficient drilling and wells operations. Gerlach observes: “This is a high-end control room where our KVM systems have been used to build the backbone of the entire IT.” UNIFIED APPROACH The combination of KVM and virtualisation technology is also a continuing preoccupation for Black Box, whose presence in this area of the market was underlined when it acquired Cloudium Systems in 2016. Previously the founder and CEO of Cloudium Systems, John Hickey is now senior director responsible for Black Box’s worldwide KVM business.

32

www.Installation-International.com

Of the company’s present range, Hickey identifies the Emerald KVM-over-IP matrix switching system as being among its “flagship” solutions. Designed to deliver high-quality HD or 4K video over a dedicated or existing IP network, Emerald allows reliable extension and switching of video (DisplayPort or DVI), transparent USB 2.0, and bi-directional analogue audio signals over an IP network. To extend KVM signals over long distances, Emerald transmitter and receiver units can be combined with SFP modules such as Emerald PE and Emerald 4K. It’s also possible to add a managed IP switch and the Boxilla KVM Manager to an Emerald solution to create a matrix switching system, thereby supporting connectivity for any combination and numbers of users, and physical as well as virtual servers.

“We see the movement towards [KVM over IP] being well-underway, driven by the familiarity with IP among IT professionals, who understand its scalability and cost-efficiency,” says Hickey, alluding to the low-cost of ethernet switches. “Then as [customer needs develop] you can aggregate multiple switches very easily with IP.” LATEST STAGE For Adder Technology’s vice-president sales EMEA Jamie Adkin, it is possible to see the rise of KVM over IP as the latest stage on a trajectory that goes “back to our foundations as a company and almost to the foundations of KVM itself, which were really about server management and accessing computers in data centres and so on.” Utilising KVM over IP therefore brings a further flexibility for installations requiring “connectivity between different campuses, buildings or facilities. [IP-based] products have seen huge growth in control rooms for the last five-to-ten years.”

Right: With G&D's RemoteAccess-CPU, users can integrate virtual machines into KVM matrix

Below: ATEN's KE 9950 4K DisplayPort Single Display KVM over IP extender

Feature support the migration to '4K and beyond', with 5K and HDR among the cited formats. The objective here, indicates Adkin, is providing customers with the scope to streamline “high resolution workflows, giving your users instant access to their target PCs and delivering the flexibility to grow your business.”

STEADY PROGRESS Nicolas Jaud, product technical manager at ATEN, charts the steady progress of IP-oriented KVM over recent years. “We have been selling KVM over IP products for a decade now, and what we recall is that the [technology] was mostly designed for data centre allocations in the beginning,” he says. More recently, there has been a greater demand for solutions that “enable working from home” or other locations to have the same kind of control at distance flexibility, hence KVM over IP’s more rapid adoption lately.

As a result ATEN has continued to evolve a range of products that delivers “KVM over IP with high performance capacity”, such as the KE series of KVM over IP transmitters that can deliver superior video quality (up to 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz, 24-bit colour depth) as well as multiple extender and matrix connections for multi-display installations and video wall applications.

Invited to consider how this area of technology might develop over the next few years, Jaud suggests that “maintaining low latency as the screen resolutions get larger and there is more data to process” will remain a priority. He also anticipates further evolution of encryption technology to maintain the integrity of data and content as the wider security environment continues to shift.

Above bottom: Under the bonnet of G&D’s

Control Center Xperience (CCX)

Recognising the growing need to accommodate both virtual and physical machines, Adder’s current products include the ADDERLink INFINITY 3000. The dual-head, USB2.0 IP KVM extender allows users to seamlessly and securely switch between virtual and physical machines directly from their user workstations, without the need to rip and replace existing KVM infrastructure. Meanwhile, geared towards “improving IT scalability for small to medium businesses”, the ADDERLink XDIP KVM extender or matrix solution utilises a standard 1 Gb/s IP network to allows users to extend and manage critical PCs with ultra-low latency and HD video. An API delivers remote control of the matrix and allows the XDIP to be integrated into larger systems, controlled by third-party software.

Underlying the rise in 4K video and the desire to create, control and view high resolution content in real time, the ADDERLink INFINITY 4000 is designed to

STRONGER EMPHASIS With several high-profile industrial cyber-attacks utilising ransomware to extract money in exchange for the resumption of services hitting the headlines during the early months of 2021, it’s reasonable to surmise that the emphasis placed on security in industrial applications is only going to become stronger in the years ahead. Meanwhile, there is a general feeling that – after an inevitably unpredictable 2020 – the number of enquiries about “new projects involving KVM is beginning to rise once again”, as Jaud observes. With optimum flexibility and extensive support for highresolution video formats such as 4K and HDR, it’s fair to say that KVM customers now face an unprecedented array of choice.

AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

Or go to: https://bit.ly/2Vp3Nh8

www.Installation-International.com

33

Feature

EDUCATION SECTOR GETS SCHOOLED IN SOUND BENEFITS Audio has long played a part in schools, colleges and universities but it is only now being fully recognised for what benefits it can bring to pupils and students. Kevin Hilton goes back to school to see how this has come about

34

www.Installation-International.com

Feature

B

The Adapt 100 series headsets from EPOS in use in a K-12 classroom setting

ack in the mists of time – or at least the 1970s – the main audiovisual (AV) event in most schools was when the big TV in its wooden box on top of a tall metal stand was wheeled into the classroom by a bored-looking man in a graph-paper shirt and corduroy tie. The most obvious deployment of sound equipment at that time was in the language lab, when pupils got to wear headsets with boom microphones (and most ended up pretending to be pilots until the teacher overheard them).

Things became more sophisticated as music departments got their own recording gear and, increasingly, proper studios. But sound for the classroom and, in higher education (HE), lecture theatres, has also evolved considerably in recent years, to the point where it is now an integral part of the learning process. As Ed Fairfield, commercial manager of specialist education AV reseller Elementary Technology, points out, although audio might be undervalued compared to visual/image-based media, teachers more often than not ask their pupils to listen.

Audio for education is part of the wider field of EdTech, which research consultancy Futuresource noted in a recent report "has been a growing industry for years." Initially, it continues, this technology was adopted as a way to "prepare students to work in increasingly digitised environments" but soon progressed to "driving productivity", for both staff and pupils, and "creating a more personalised learning experience." Associated with this, Futuresource's Professional Audio in Higher Education – A Future in Hybrid Learning research, published in April this year, shows that universities view having a strategy for sound as a key consideration. This involves not only investment in equipment for lecture facilities but also awareness that the full audio chain, from microphones, recording equipment and sound reinforcement systems to DSP and audio over IP (AoIP) networks.

The pro audio report further highlights a growing demand in HE for innovations such as beamforming microphones. These are used as "high quality, contactfree, flexible audio devices" for picking up speech by presenters and audience members anywhere in a room. Several audio companies now offer their take on this concept. Among them is Sennheiser, which produces the TeamConnect Ceiling 2 microphone with automatic beamforming technology. Sennheiser's involvement in the education market focuses mainly on HE. Inesh Patel, business development manager for business communication at Sennheiser UK, comments that while smaller schools and colleges may have difficulties with budgets for this kind of equipment, HE institutions "are able to put quality above budget requirements or at least allocate budgets a bit better".

Patel adds that universities and others in this end of the market do see audio as a priority, not just for auditoria but also for a variety of teaching environments.

Before beamforming microphones, wireless mic technology was an important tool for the learning process and remains so today. Patel observes that the earlier forms of radio mics freed lecturers and teachers from cabled and fixed lectern equivalents. "Previously it was mainly UHF RF wireless mics, where you'd need to buy a licence to use it," he says. "And if you were repeating the installation over multiple rooms you were looking at multiple licences, not to mention crossfrequency interference and having to replace all those batteries. Now there's DECT [digital enhanced cordless technology], which is licence free and the basis of our range for speech and lectures, SpeechLine. This product also has monitoring capability, which allows the AV team to check battery levels and whether the mics have gone out of range over a large campus."

Education is a very broad area, encompassing different age groups each with differing requirements and – in harsh economic terms – dramatically varying budgets available to spend on the technology that is now central to teaching. Nancy Knowlton, chief executive of audio conferencing developer Nureva, identifies a number of categories, including: large lecture halls in universities where the primary focus is on picking up the lecturer's voice and amplifying it for in-room students and those participating remotely; smaller rooms in colleges and universities requiring a higher level of interactivity, including the need to amplify students' voices as well as that of the lecturer; and primary and secondary classrooms with an increasing proportion of remote attendance by pupils but where the priority is amplifying the teacher.

"There are clearly exceptions to those generalities," Knowlton says. "A recent requirement that has emerged is in-room voice amplification at the same time students are connected to the classroom from other locations. This means more functionality from the same system, not multiple systems. Audio is foundational in many modern classrooms and has moved from a niche application in a lab to something that needs to be available everywhere at all levels of education, whether it is for in-room voice amplification or to connect remote students to a college or university classroom."

EQUALISED PARTNERSHIP Audiovisual technology has long had a presence in education but, as Ed Fairfield at Elementary Technology confirms, the 'A' in AV usually played a secondary role to the 'V'. "Audio is the missing part of AV," he says, "and schools tended to neglect it." The situation has now changed and Fairfield says that there is now more awareness of the part sound can play in teaching. "We encourage schools to buy a soundbar with touch screens. In the past, audio was often behind a screen and playing to the wall, so it wasn't very effective. Now it is facing forward and is more effective." www.Installation-International.com

35

Feature While AV continues to see audio paired with visuals, the partnership is more equal these days. This is particularly true for a widely used tool in EdTech, the visualiser. The modern successor to the overhead projector (OHP) is used both in the classroom, where objects or documents can be viewed through the integral camera and shown on a screen, or in videos and conference calls. The last two applications especially has called for visualisers to work in conjunction with microphones, so the teacher can explain the images.

Elementary Technology handles the AVerVision brand of what the manufacturer describes as 'document cameras'. Fairfield comments that audio is now very much a part of visualisers like this: "It is being used with them more than ever, both for synchronous learning, where someone is teaching live to pupils either in a classroom or remotely, and for asynchronous learning, where a presentation is prepared in advance."

Another critical use of sound, which Fairfield calls a "hot topic and big priority", is to provide inclusivity during lessons, enabling everyone – especially those with hearing difficulties – to hear what is going on.

Among the systems being used for this is the FrontRow Juno, comprising a line array tower loudspeaker and a pendant microphone, which is worn by the teacher. The system has Bluetooth connectivity, enabling other audio material, such as music or speech clips, to be streamed and played out.

Matthew Farrer, the market development manager at QSC in the UK with responsibility for HE, acknowledges "video was the pathway to audio" in the education sector but that sound's importance as part of an overall presentation has now been recognised.

"With flat panel displays people no longer want to just play the sound from the screen, they are looking at column loudspeakers on either side or a distributed system, often with ceiling speakers," he says.

In lecture theatres and classrooms, voice reinforcement systems are used to amplify or at least give a 'lift' to the speech of lecturers and teachers.

Farrer says that "in most applications" the choice would be column loudspeakers, usually because of the size of the rooms involved. But, he explains, because of the increased use of hybrid and distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, distributed audio systems integrated with video are now more common. "Endusers are now looking at dual 'near and far' situations.

That means delivering good quality audio in the classroom but also bringing in the remote participants, who need to hear and see everything as well. We have PTZ [pan tilt zoom] cameras that operate with a platform like Q-SYS, which also controls the loudspeakers, amps and other audio inputs."

Farrer adds that ceiling speakers are deployed in such scenarios to distribute the sound, while contactless microphones, which again can be mounted in ceilings, pick up the voices of the teacher/lecturer 36

www.Installation-International.com

and students in the classroom or lecture theatre. This kind of technology became imperative during the coronavirus crisis to reduce the risk of infection, something that could be high if the previous method of passing a handheld mic from person to person was still employed. Systems that can be used for this include Sennheiser's TeamConnect Ceiling 2, the Nureva Microphone Mist virtual system, EPOS Expand SP 30T speakerphone, Audio-Technica's ES954 multi-element hanging mic and the beyerdynamic MPR 210 array.

The beyer microphone range is distributed in the UK

by Polar, which has an integrated solutions division that installs systems into HE establishments, including universities. Peter Curtis, business development manager for HE, observes that ceiling speakers and ceiling or drop-down mics "keep people in their seats" and also mean levels can be kept low. "What people are looking for is ease of use, simplicity and quality," he says. "What has changed post-Covid is that there is more audio and microphone deployment is more widespread. We're also seeing audio being transmitted around, with more interactivity."

WELLBEING AND HYBRID LEARNING The production and reproduction of good quality sound, plus appropriate reverberation times to suite the type of classroom, is important for audibility and intelligibility. But, according to a white paper by EPOS and research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan published in November 2020, it can also help improve the general wellbeing of pupils and students. The paper outlines that the move to online learning due to the pandemic involved "long hours of online classes" with students having to "focus harder to process non-verbal cues", such as facial expressions, body language and the tone and pitch of someone's voice. On top of this, it says, "poor audio can be a further drain on students'

A lecture room complete with Renkus-Heinz Iconyx loudspeaker installation

Feature

Above right: QSC Q-SYS softwarebased system at Bentley University, Massachusetts Below right: University of Southern California features a Dante backbone for audio

emotional and mental wellbeing." The researchers concluded: "Learning in the classroom, physical or virtual, in the presence of noise is more difficult than ever. Students learning from their homes or dorm rooms with noisy backgrounds or in cafés or classrooms with surrounding chitchat, struggle to concentrate and get tired easily. The result: students lose their focus, motivation and cognitive processing."

To deal with these negative aspects of online or hybrid learning, the white paper recommends improving the audio quality through the use of active noise cancelling headsets, which are able to tune out background noise and produce clear sound.

Logan Helps, distributed brands manager at AudioTechnica, explains that "the expectations of good audio have increased significantly in recent years", with the days of cheap microphones going into an underpowered PA in the assembly hall now left behind.

"We're finding that schools and colleges are paying attention to every aspect of audio delivery, from address systems in communal areas to the way in which sound for online lessons is provided," he says.

"Audio solutions often need to be unobtrusive, easy to use and in keeping with increasingly well designed education spaces. This means low profile speakers and well-designed user interfaces are important."

Helps highlights how audio can assist in creating better learning environments with the example of an installation for students with ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder), who find external sounds extremely distracting. "Even when the teacher spoke directly with one student, it would distract the other students," he says. "We helped design and implement an audio system with headphones for the students and a simple to operate communication matrix for the teacher to speak to an individual student, a table of students or the whole class."

As in other areas of audio, networking is, according to Helps, "becoming more commonplace in education situations". Simpler installations based on CAT5 cabling and a central switcher or console such as A-T's ATDM0604 Digital SmartMixer can bring both logistical and budgetary benefits. Helps points out that these installations deliver flexibility to configure systems using software and link rooms within the facility. "It allows buildings to become multi-use and cater for changing class needs or online delivery with minimum disruption," he says.

AV over IP (AVoIP) and AoIP technologies have made this much simpler to implement and execute. On the AoIP side, Audinate, developer of the Dante protocol, has seen an increase in both the use of this technology and the creation of networked facilities within schools, colleges and universities. "The ability to link multiple rooms on campus, multiple rooms on different campuses and remote learners via video conferencing is the main change we have seen as a result of the global pandemic," comments Brad Price, senior product marketing manager at Audinate. "Ensuring your AVoIP system integrates easily and effectively with common video conferencing tools is important. But, as we return to our physical spaces, we need a solution that provides a true hybrid environment: on-site, remote and all combinations in between."

Price observes that there has been "a lot of innovation" over the last 18 months, with AoIP being used to link between the different uses and configurations within a classroom or lecture theatre – and beyond.

"Educators are using Dante systems to speak to in-class participants through a local PA, have their audio streamed to overflow rooms and be on video conferencing tools in real-time," he says. "This combination of uses is likely to stay in use moving forward and it's exciting to think about how that will enable more individuals to join classrooms no matter where they are in the world."

The aforementioned Futuresource report confirms this, stating that "increases in the number of AoIPenabled devices now available has also provided significant opportunities for institutions looking to upgrade to a comprehensive and fully connected [audio] network". It also states that, since the outbreak of Covid-19, HE has become "an even more important market" for professional audio brands.

Which shows that sound has finally graduated from the juniors to the higher realms of AV.

READ MORE ONLINE!

An extended version of this feature is available to read on our website. Click here to enjoy it.

Or go to: https://bit.ly/3iowR0U

www.Installation-International.com

37

Feature

AFTER THE PARTY: INDUSTRY VIEWPOINTS ON ISE 2021 Following what has been a very unusual year for ISE, Installation spoke with industry movers and shakers to gauge their thoughts on the success of Barcelona, London and ISE Digital

38

www.Installation-International.com

W

hat a year for ISE; what a year for us all! With 2022 looking – fingers and everything else crossed! – like it might just be the return to normality we all crave, it’s a wonder that ISE 2021 happened at all. Sure, it wasn’t what we all wanted, but kudos to Integrated Systems Events for pulling together the two regional events in Barcelona and London and for launching ISE Digital, which we’ll surely see returning next year in some format.

Following our feature last month, where we asked for views on how ISE had handled the impossible Covid situation in the run up to the rescheduled and much altered regional events (overall opinion was very positive), Installation was keen to find out how Barcelona, London and the digital offering were received, from a visitor and exhibitor perspective, to get a feel for how 2021 informs ISE going forward, and to again ask the big question: how did ISE handle this most difficult of years?

We spoke to the following: Christian Bozeat, MACOM GMBH (UK) director (CB); Christian Orcin Torner,

Hubert van Doorne, business development director of Nexmosphere (co-exhibiting with BrightSign)

Feature

general manager d&b audiotechnik Iberia&Italia (COT); Hubert van Doorne, business development director of Nexmosphere (co-exhibiting with BrightSign) (HvD); James Keen, vice president of marketing at Uniguest (JK); Jon Sidwick, president of Collabtech Group and chairman of the board of directors for AVIXA (JS); Juan Jose Vila Ridaura, co-founder, Avify (JJVR); Mark Wadsworth, vice president of global marketing at Digital Projection (MW); Mark Stanborough, sales director EMEA and APAC at MediaStar Systems (MS); and Bret Rohloff, senior strategic alliance manager, EMEA & UK, ScreenBeam (BR).

We also asked Wendy Griffiths, vice president engagement & global development at CEDIA, to comment, and posed a series of special questions to Mike Blackman, managing director at Integrated Systems Events.

Above: Attendees at ISE in Barcelona Below: Bret Rohloff, senior strategic alliance manager, EMEA & UK, ScreenBeam

If you visited either event, how was it overall for you – both in terms of it being worthwhile (or not), and also in terms of the Covid safety measures?

Would you attend a small regional event again in the future – either if it was forced by Covid or if ISE rolled them out as an add-on to the main annual show?

CB: A bit of a waste of time, to be honest; not many exhibitors but I knew that before I went. I only went in order to show support for the industry and not to get information on technology. I only stayed for a couple of hours. I would attend regional events in the future, subject to more exhibitors attending. I would rather the event was in the UK in any event, or at least travelled around different countries rather than staying with one location for such a long period of time. Sticking with Amsterdam for so long was a big mistake and one they should work to avoid. Why not hold it in Paris or London, Milan, Barcelona on a rotating basis? Bring some interest to the event especially after Covid.

COT: In terms of Covid safety, the whole show felt very safe. The safety measures were good and the implementation of them was efficient.

Looking at regional events, there are already established, specialist regional shows, so I’m not sure if additional local ISE events would add value. The international show format has a huge impact; when it’s back we will be back.

JK: The show floor itself took no more than ten minutes to cover; if I had travelled far then I would’ve been a bit disappointed. But to be honest, it is what I expected. I think smaller regional shows could work, but the pricing structure would need to be revisited and the timing is hugely influential to how useful they are. Beyond the show, there were a number of opportunities to catch up with old friends and colleagues and ‘find’ value in attendance; it was great to get out of the house. We

all know that ISE is a massive networking show, but that is usually coupled up with a fantastic lead generative exhibition; so it is easily justifiable. I would be surprised if many of the exhibitors could justify an ROI on their spend.

JS: I was able to attend the events in both Barcelona and London. Both shows were incredibly well organised and complied to the rules in each country to give people the best experiences, whilst at the same time keeping them safe.

Attending both events was an amazing experience.

To finally be with people again after 18 months highlighted perfectly what we have all been missing.

We all managed to cope incredibly well in a ‘video world’, however nothing beats actually being with people and interacting in the same space.

It will be interesting to see if regional shows have a place in our industry moving forwards. Most people relished meeting and talking rather than focusing on product. Maybe there is a future role for more people only events.

JJVR: We are part of the live events industry and we have been continually saying during the pandemic that live events can be made in a safe way so this was our opportunity to demonstrate that to the world. I don´t regret exhibiting at ISE 2021 in Barcelona. Of course we know that the audience numbers would be low but at least we could see customers that had not been in touch for a very long time, also being able to talk with other manufacturers and overall I think it has been worthwhile to exhibit. I would do it again in 2022 under the same circumstances.

MW: It was definitely worthwhile and felt safe; it was well spaced out, hand sanitisation stations, masks and track and trace. I think they did everything they could under the circumstances. We would probably do a regional event again if we had to, but the big shows are still the primary destination. It is only at the bigger events we can set up a lot of kit which simply isn’t a viable option at the smaller shows.

MS: I visited the London event on both days. For a show, it was incredibly small, without much to see there. The covid measures didn’t really affect this, due to the size of the show. As a networking event however, it was very well attended, and definitely worth going there for. It was great to see so many familiar faces and catch up with people I haven’t seen face to face in 18 months. Yes, I would attend smaller events, however mainly for the networking element of it.

BR: I and one of my fellow colleagues attended the London event which under the current environment and restrictions, was well organised and provided a safe

www.Installation-International.com

39

Feature atmosphere. The best part was meeting our industry partners, other vendors and resellers as we walked the venue, giving us the ability to discuss face-to-face the latest technology, projects and market overall.

We would attend again if the show was slightly larger and potentially had larger space to network with partners. However, the feeling from exhibitors that we spoke with was that there weren’t enough potential customers in attendance as they were hoping. It may have been more effective just to stick to online this year and have a big kick off next year.

How did you find exhibiting in terms of logistics and footfall/leads? Was it worth it and would you do it again in the event that Covid messes up 2022 as well?

COT: d&b exhibited at ISE Barcelona this year with a stand on the show floor and a nearby Soundscape demonstration room. It obviously felt different to previous years, but the organisers did a really wonderful job of ensuring it was efficient and everything ran smoothly.

The main difference this year was that the number of international visitors was greatly reduced, but we still had a good flow of people and ISE did a good job of maintaining the international feel; it didn’t seem like a regional show. The quality of attendees was very high, and we gathered some great system integrator leads which is key for us. Overall, it was definitely a worthwhile show.

HvD: We attended both shows. There were certainly more visitors than expected. Those who visited were dedicated and very interested, taking the time to have thoughtful and provoking conversations. The logistics in Barcelona were fairly simple, but in London, customs and travel restrictions made things far more difficult. In the end, both shows had a good number of (local) integrators and we’d do it again if big international shows were not possible. This is a decent alternative to connect to the market locally and speak to a number of people in a short timeframe. Tradeshow set-up also helps to demonstrate a number of technologies in a defined setting, which is less possible in company meetings.

JJVR: We exhibited at Barcelona. Everything was running perfect, maybe because we were only a few exhibitors and few visitors but the experience was very positive. The covid tests made us feel very safe at the show.

MW: We had a small stand at ISE London and it exceeded our expectations. While it is not ISE as we all know and love it, it was a fantastic networking opportunity with a steady flow of quality visitors, a stepping stone to the real event next year.

40

www.Installation-International.com

What about the spread of exhibitors: okay, given the circumstances?

CB: I was extremely impressed with the exhibitors who did attend and think they were great; however there were not enough considering the space available.

I was disappointed more did not decide to attend to support the industry.

Above: Presenters for ISE's virtual digital platform, ISE Digital Below: Christian

Bozeat, MACOM GMBH (UK)

COT: There was a good mix of audio, lighting, and video exhibitors at the Barcelona show. The proportion of pro audio for the floorplan was good, although some big names were missing.

HvD: Obviously fewer exhibitors than normal, but under the circumstances it wasn’t too bad.

JK: It was difficult to say really, as most exhibitors didn’t bring their ‘A-game’, so it was hard to judge them and there wasn’t the usual sprinkling of eye-catching new tech to get you excited. Personally, I think a reduced cost to exhibit would’ve attracted a more exhibitors and created added value for the delegates.

JS: Those who I talked to were all so pleased that they attended. Of course, it would have been great to see more, but this was the first step in getting back to live events.

JJVR: There were very few exhibitors and during the set-up I must admit it was a bit scary to see that we were just a small list of exhibitors. But later during the show I could see advantages of being a small group.

MW: The physical spread was great and there was some good diversity of exhibitors. There wasn’t as

Above:

Christian Orcin Torner, general manager d&b audiotechnik

Feature much kit on display as at a usual ISE, but the point of this show was never to recreate the big show.

MS: The hall looked very empty. I don’t think it helped being able to view it from up above as you walked in, as you could see all the empty space around it.

BR: Given the circumstances, it was acceptable.

How were the Main Stage talks/speeches – those that you saw?

JS: The ‘AVIXA Experience’ in Spain was very well attended and offered tremendous value showing the thirst for directly delivered knowledge. The digital content quality was some of the best I have seen and enabled me to focus show time on physical meetings and then go back and catch up on main stage content post-show.

Below right: ISE Live & Online in Barcelona 2021 and the old Amsterdam RAI venue Below top: Jon Sidwick, president of Collabtech Group and chairman of the board of directors for AVIXA

Below bottom: James Keen, vice president of marketing at Uniguest

JJVR: They were good and I was happy to see many of them in Spanish language (in Barcelona) because the audience there was basically from Spain. I have to emphasise the success of the AV Experience Zone made by AVIXA: it was full during all of the exhibition.

BR: We saw some good presentations by the exhibitors about their products. However, we felt that the schedule lacked enough discussions around the pro AV market conditions and overall trade. Also, the social distance requirements made the presentations rather sombre. Was difficult to generate excitement or any kind of energy in that space. The content was good and well-presented though.

What about ISE Digital? Have you checked it out, either post-physical shows or during the events? Was it useful, perhaps in terms of catching up with what you may have missed? Do you see this as an essential component of future ISE events? Are virtual events, in your opinion, here to stay following Covid?

CB: I didn’t attend and wouldn’t. Yes they are here to stay, but ISE for me is a face-to-face event. You are not yet able to properly network at a virtual event and until that actually works it has limited usefulness.

COT: From d&b’s perspective, ISE Digital – like other digital events this year and last – showed us that the potential is there for a hybrid approach. I’m not sure if the brand spaces at ISE Digital delivered a huge amount of additional value, but access to the keynotes after the event is certainly useful. There’s definitely still a way to finesse and build more into the online components of these trade shows. It’ll be interesting to work further with the ISE organisers and other shows to ensure hybrid exhibitions are even more memorable and valuable.

HvD I did not check it out, but I think it’s good that local events can also have a more international spin-off this way (and be more accessible locally as well). I think if we get another year or two of virus mutations and uncertain travel restrictions, digital platforms could be a good add-on for local events.

JK: I didn’t use it, and like most I am completely fed up with digital shows; they don’t hold delegates’ attention long enough and don’t generally lead to opportunities for manufacturers. Maybe there is a place for ISE Digital to run in the background, but I certainly wouldn’t put many eggs in that basket from a budgetary perspective.

JJVR: I think the ISE Digital opportunities were expensive.

MS: I’ve tried the virtual events, however I have not been impressed with any, so did not try any of ISE Digital.

BR: Our company selected to participate only in the ISE Digital event, which we felt was a complete event that provided a significant amount of content, networking

www.Installation-International.com

41

Left: Outside the FIRA, Barcelona, venue for one of the two ISE 2021 regional events, and home for the main event from 2022 onwards Overleaf: A packed RAI, prepandemic

opportunities and coverage on new solutions. I think ISE Digital should absolutely continue. It’s a great way to capture those who couldn’t necessarily attend in person.

How has ISE 2021 influenced your feelings about the event as a whole? Has it made you more determined to have a great 2022, or has it dampened your enthusiasm? Do you have any suggestions for ISE for 2022 based on what you saw this year?

CB: I am losing enthusiasm for the event in any case, not just because of Covid. It was too large and crowded in Amsterdam and is too far away from the town in Barcelona. I don’t really go to find new tech as I can do that from my computer. The food is always poor. I will go to the next event once all restrictions are lifted to see what they do with the event to make it more interesting and useful.

I will probably only attend for a reduced number of days in the future. Ideas: hold it in the UK or at l east rotate the location. Make the food better with more places to sit down. Plan more meeting and networking zones.

COT: ISE had to happen in one form or another, no matter what. AV has been one of the most pandemicaffected industries. During the crisis, industry professionals played a proactive role in developing the protocols, testing regimes, crowd management, and event design to prove that events are possible.

Being present this year was important to us and I think we need to celebrate everyone who attended.

We should all be proud that we made these events 42

www.Installation-International.com

possible. It’s an important message to the market that with the right planning, big events are possible. By attending ISE in person, we have very publicly demonstrated our faith in the safety of wellmanaged large-scale events and our commitment to the industry.

In 2022, ISE can proudly celebrate that they were the only show that didn’t cancel during the pandemic.

HvD: I am a bit worried that in 2022 we will not be completely back to normal, but I think this event proves that something in between is possible. I think it shows that an event like ISE 2022 may be smaller than planned, but still a place where the industry can meet constructively.

Above top:

JS: It has 100 per cent given me so much enthusiasm and optimism for getting back to large scale events as soon as possible. InfoComm in October will be incredible and the thirst for live events moving into 2022 will be off the scale.

JJVR: ISE 2021 has been not just a show but something else. It was an emotional meeting of people that had been a long time without personal contact, people that have had very difficult moments in the last year. For 2022 I will suggest that the organisation improve their marketing strategy to attract more visitors from Spain and Portugal with more campaigns in the local languages and also content in the same direction.

MW: The vibe on the show floor was generally very positive and it showed an appetite to get back to normal. The signs are positive for ISE 2022 and the London show definitely increased our enthusiasm.

Juan Jose Vila Ridaura, co-founder, Avify Middle: Mark

Wadsworth, vice president of global marketing at Digital Projection Below: Mark Stanborough, sales director EMEA and APAC at MediaStar Systems

Feature MS: I cannot wait for ISE 2022, as this has shown me how much we have missed face to face meetings and networking.

BR: Overall, our team had a positive vibe and are definitely looking forward to being back on the show floor for the 2022 edition. The new venue along with a new city to explore, will be a great asset. I expect a lot of visitors for next year. I am very much looking forward to getting back to the actual event as it is intended.

Finally, it has been a very difficult time for everyone, not least ISE: horrible decisions to have to make. How do you think the organisation fared? Could they and should they have done things differently, and if so what?

CB: Difficult for everyone, I have to say they were brave even attempting to hold the event. On the face of it was a good idea but it may have done more harm than good as the event was so poorly attended from both exhibitors and visitors. That may have damaged the brand a little; hopefully all the previous events that have been so good will allow it to continue.

I would have set a minimum level of exhibitors and told everyone that unless there is a sufficient number then it will not go ahead. I would have then cancelled it and just held an online event. I personally would not have promised everyone it would go ahead earlier in the year, but I see they wanted to try to keep the momentum of the show going.

The [Barcelona] location is a pain to get to as it is not near any central public transport. There are many other locations that could have housed an event of this scale, nearer tube stations, etc.

There are other new technologies that could have been used such as the white light smart stage that would have made the event more interactive. It was a shame that they didn’t try to use more of the available tech to produce the event rather than just sticking with an old style of event.

HvD: The success of the event is a big compliment to the ISE team. Other shows just cancelled immediately, but ISE searched for possibilities. I think they did an amazing job in these circumstances. If there could be one improvement, then I think it is being clearer to visitors of what to expect. For some it was not very transparent. London had a small video for the online event, and I think an opportunity was missed in Barcelona to make a 4-8 min video as a virtual walk-though of a booth. This may have helped to create a better link between the show floor and the digital add-on.

JK: It was the wrong thing to try to force through the show and then the regional show at this stage of the pandemic. Yes, we all want the events industry to

Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events How do you think the two ISE events went, logistically and in terms of exhibitor involvement and footfall?

We were very happy with how both events turned out. The Barcelona event in particular was very successful in helping us to build and strengthen relationships with government agencies and industry bodies in Catalonia and further afield. In Barcelona we had a number of Spanish companies exhibiting with us for the first time and presenting Spanishlanguage sessions to their peers.

There was a wonderful atmosphere at both Barcelona and London. They were both among the first live events to be held at their respective venues for many months, and it was great to be able to demonstrate to the industry and the wider world that successful face-to-face events can be held against a background of social distancing and face masks. The overriding sentiment from exhibitors and visitors was gratitude for making these events possible.

What about ISE Digital: how did it go and what’s the feedback been like?

With ISE Digital, we’ve created something completely new for the industry in a short space of time. It’s been very well received by the industry, both during the event itself (on 1-2 June, complementing our show in Barcelona) and afterwards; the platform remains open till the end of the year, and we’ll be adding content from London shortly. We had excellent feedback from the industry, particularly for our virtual studio technology.

Would you have done anything differently, and are you happy that the correct decisions were made with regard to cancellations, etc?

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve tried to make the best decisions based on the information that was available at the time. The first change to our plans was to move ISE 2021 from February to June, but we also promised to advise our exhibitors of any further change by the end of March, as this was when they would start to incur significant costs in preparation for a big ISE. It was then that we announced our move to a regional show model for June, but we didn’t want to compel any of our customers to take part, so everyone who wanted to cancel was offered a full refund, or a full credit towards ISE 2022. By doing this, we’ve kept our customers on our side, and the wisdom of that approach has been demonstrated by the significantly increased amount of space that we have already sold for next year.

What takeaways are likely to influence future ISEs; for instance ISE Digital’s involvement, possibilities of regional break-out events, etc? And any general findings from this year that you can use going forward?

I’ve been saying for months that all tradeshows need to have a digital component from now on; not just while pandemic restrictions are in place, but permanently. A digital platform doesn’t deliver what a face-to-face event can, but it can broaden access to your event and help you to keep the customer conversation going beyond the timespan of a physical show. We’re currently working on exactly what we want the digital component of ISE 2022 to look like.

The Spanish-language sessions that AVIXA organised in Barcelona were the best attended at the show, so another takeaway is that we need to put greater amount of focus onto Spanish (or even Catalan) content at ISE 2022.

Also, the Spanish media don’t seem very keen on attending press conferences at breakfast time! I think we will have to adjust the timing of our opening press conference next year.

www.Installation-International.com

43

Feature survive and we all want shows to come back, but the timing of it was off and created a very difficult choice for exhibitors and delegates alike.

Industry leadership requires making hard decisions for the greater good, and giving sponsors certainty; there was too much 'wait and see' involved in the process. It also feels like the event was delivered for the good of the delegates and not of the exhibitors; forgetting who actually funds the show.

We will still, as we have for many years, attend ISE 2022 and support the industry, but I think ISE could have done a little better this year to give its customers certainty and support.

JS: The ISE team did an incredible job of negotiating an ever-changing landscape whilst dealing with hundreds of exhibitors and messaging tens of thousands of attendees. ISE 2019 feels a lifetime ago, however the journey from 55,000 attendees in Amsterdam to our industry waking up again in Barcelona shows the creativity and dedication of the ISE team.

I know the effort being put into 2022 is enormous and the exhibitor enthusiasm to make this a massive event is a great sign of how significant this show will be.

JJVR: As I said before, I missed seeing more marketing dedicated to Spanish visitors as the show in Barcelona became mainly a local show and there were not many actions to attract local people.

MS: I think they have done well, and it’s been difficult for everyone, and they have done everything possible.

BR: We all at ScreenBeam give major kudos to the ISE team as we think they navigated this unprecedented situation as well as they could and much better that we would have excepted.

These decisions had to have been really hard to make; even [many] European governments and the UK government did not know either how to handle things. Creating the regional events was an excellent compromise along with the digital presence to making ISE work this year.

AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE If you’re viewing our digital edition and prefer to read this article off-page, on our website, please click here.

Or go to: https://bit.ly/3jrVk4z

44

www.Installation-International.com

Wendy Griffiths, vice president engagement & global development at CEDIA Despite the very difficult circumstances that we continue to live and work through, ISE worked tirelessly to provide two great platforms for the industry to come together as a community.

ISE Live in Barcelona demonstrated the strong level of support that we can expect from both the FIRA and the city of Barcelona for the ISE show going forward. Logistically and operationally, the venue worked supremely well, especially with all the pandemic restrictions that they were forced to implement, and we are confident that their professionalism and efficiency will be greatly appreciated by exhibitors and visitors who attend next year’s event. The city, its business leaders and dignitaries provided a warm, hospitable, and enthusiastic welcome over the duration of the two-day show and, again, gave us 100% confidence that Barcelona is the right host city for the next era of ISE. There was a real buzz on the show floor with great media and PR coverage for all involved and we can’t wait for our return to Barcelona for ISE 2022 which takes place from 1-4 February 2022.

In London, as in Barcelona, we were immensely gratified to be part of a returning AV community who enjoyed interacting with exhibitors on the show floor at the Evolution venue as well as conducting in-person business meetings and networking with their peers from across the industry. There is no doubt that the event was small, especially in comparison to what people are used to, but the energy, goodwill and vibrancy that was created was a huge plus for ISE and demonstrates how important it is to continue to meet face-to-face.

CEDIA is known for its rich education programme at ISE and we were, obviously, disappointed that this in-person teaching to improve skills and share knowledge throughout the industry could not feature in Barcelona or London this year. The Main Stage programme of talks and panel discussions proved popular at both events, giving a taste of key industry trends, technologies and industry thinking for the residential sector.

However, we will be back stronger than ever with a full and valuable training programme for ISE 2022. We are also looking forward to supporting the ISE Conferences that are planned to take place next year at the show.

Until that time, ISE Digital is a great destination for AV industry professionals.

This online platform features a vast range of content that will remain open and accessible for the industry to use all the way up until ISE 2022. ISE Digital will provide a bridge for the ISE brand and its exhibitors to connect with the AV community until then. I urge everyone to check out what is freely available.

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE Sign up for your FREE digital edition

Get the latest features, case studies, and technology guides from the professional AV marketplace Get every issue, on the go, wherever you are

And it’s FREE SIGN UP NOW Online: bit.ly/INSTALLDIG

FREE SUBSCRIPTION For more than 20 years, System Contractor News has been the leading system integration industry magazine, providing timely news, insightful reporting, product information, new analysis, trends reports, and the authoritative source for technology information.

To claim your FREE subscription, go to www.myscnews.com

AWARDS 2021 A scaled back ISE meant far fewer Best of Show at ISE awards entries this year, so Installation publisher Future introduced the new Best in Market awards to give manufacturers the opportunity to put their key products forward for consideration. Our panel of independent industry experts made the final winning choices

MERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES SOLSTICE CONFERENCE SOLSTICE Conference is a softwareenabled capability that enhances video conferencing with rich, multi-participant content sharing to deliver a better collaboration experience between on-site and remote users. Solstice Conference paired with room audio/video devices delivers the convenience of a traditional room system with the flexibility to use any conferencing service installed on the

meeting host’s laptop. It removes the limitations of traditional room systems and sets the bar for the new class of bring your own meeting (BYOM) solutions. By leveraging laptops users bring into the room and local networks for on-site content sharing, Solstice Conference combines the reach of video conferencing with the power of rich, multi-participant content sharing.

CRESTRON XIO CLOUD CRESTRON XiO Cloud is an IoT-based platform for remote provisioning, monitoring, and managing Crestron devices across an enterprise or an entire client base. Built on the Microsoft Azure software platform and utilizing Microsoft's industry‑leading Azure IoT Hub technology, Crestron XiO Cloud enables installers and IT managers to deploy and manage thousands of devices in the time it would

ordinarily take to manage just one. Unlike other virtual machine‑based cloud solutions, Azure services provide unlimited scalability to suit the ever‑growing needs of an enterprise. Crestron XiO Cloud supports a direct device-to-cloud connection via the Azure IoT Hub without requiring any additional hardware. The service allows for direct integration with Crestron's global manufacturing and logistics network.

SHURE MICROFLEX ADVANCE MXA710 LINEAR ARRAY A MAJOR component in Shure’s new conferencing audio ecosystem, the MXA710 Linear Array Microphone represents the next evolution in Shure array microphone technology. This new model is designed for high-quality audio capture in premium AV conferencing environments. Whether it’s under or next to a wall-mounted display, suspended from the ceiling or flush mounted in a

table, the low-profile form factor of the MXA710 subtly blends into any meeting room aesthetic without sacrificing audio quality. It is an ideal alternative for spaces where the MXA910 or MXA310 might not be the best option. Patented Steerable Coverage technology captures audio anywhere in the room, featuring four lobes with the 2-foot array, and eight lobes with 4-foot array.

www.Installation-International.com

47

Awards

LOGITECH RALLY BAR LOGITECH recently announced the launch of a next generation portfolio of appliance and PC-based solutions that work with today’s leading video conferencing services such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The new all-in-one Logitech Rally Bar and Logitech Rally Bar Mini are intended for mid-sized and small rooms respectively, and are said to “transform meetings with cinema-quality video and crisp, clear

audio”. For larger meeting rooms, Logitech introduced the new Logitech RoomMate, a computing appliance that allows customers to run video conferencing services on existing Logitech conference cams. “We’ve always methodically focused on what customers want: products with premium quality at a reasonable price,” said Scott Wharton, general manager and VP, Logitech Video Collaboration.

Q-SYS CORE NANO THE Q-SYS Core Nano audio, video and control (AV&C) processor extends the applications of the Q-SYS Ecosystem into a wider range of smaller-scale installations across corporate, higher education, healthcare and beyond. The Core Nano is designed for applications with lower network channel capacity and/or targeted processing requirements. It offers network AV&C processing delivers features and

functionality at the software level, including acoustic echo cancellation (AEC), widearea paging, video routing, and a full featured control engine without the need for dedicated control processors. Rather than deploying an AV&C processor with unused analog I/O that occupies a full rack space, the Core Nano offers a smaller, space-efficient solution. However, it does not compromise on functionality.

APEX CLOUDPOWER CLOUDPOWER is a new series of four channel Class-D installation amplifiers from APEX. Three key innovations set CloudPower apart from the pack. First, multiple CloudPower amplifiers can be monitored and controlled remotely from any device over the APEX Cloud. Second, CloudPower is the first product to benefit from APEX’s GlidePath direct drive technology, which fully integrates DSP and

amplifier circuits, employing DC coupling throughout the signal path.

CloudPower’s reproduction of high transients manages speaker cone excursion, minimising distortion and prolonging speaker life by cutting mechanical wear. Third, CloudPower features an integrated audio source, allowing streaming of audio from devices running apps such as Spotify or AirPlay.

MODULO PI MODULO KINETIC MODULO Kinetic version 4 is the company's biggest release ever. The fully integrated media server solution offers a revamped user interface, improved 3D engine, and new extensive capabilities dedicated to virtual productions. Designing the next generation of media server solutions, Modulo Pi is pleased to announce the official and immediate release of Modulo Kinetic V4. Introduced in

48

www.Installation-International.com

2016, Modulo Kinetic makes a major step forward in its development with a variety of new features and improvements. The Modulo Kinetic Designer offers a revamped user interface with new icons, optimized views, toolbars, timelines, nodal programming editor, and more. Special attention was paid to the 3D scene viewer to offer users a smooth navigation and polished experience with the software.

Awards

SCREENBEAM CONFERENCE WHILE traditional unified communications conference solutions are highly effective for remote meeting participants, new challenges arise within a hybrid model of blending remote and in-person meeting participants. AV/IT integrators and their customers need an affordable solution that enables an engaging experience for both groups, supports the host’s personal choice of web conferencing tool, and works easily in any environment from a traditional UC room to a non-UC space equipped only with a room display, all while meeting

company safety protocols. Meet ScreenBeam Conference. Showcasing as part of the ISE Digital exhibition, ScreenBeam Conference is a softwaredelivered solution that enables content on the room display to be shared with remote participates, providing a better collaborative experience for hybrid work environments. ScreenBeam Conference is available at no charge with every ScreenBeam 1100 Plus wireless display receiver, and is said to be the only solution that can deliver "flexible and simple" BYOM

with agnostic support for web conferencing tools and contactless wireless display that doesn’t require additional hardware or license fees. Users can host a hybrid meeting using their personal laptop and web conferencing platform of choice while taking full advantage of the in-room meeting equipment.

WOLFVISION CYNAP CORE PRO WOLFVISION Cynap Core Pro is a wireless presentation, web conferencing and collaboration system providing wireless screen mirroring functionality, combined with built-in Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WebRTC web conferencing, plus many other popular collaboration tools.

It is an ideal all-in-one solution to support in-room, remote and hybrid working and learning environments. The system features comprehensive bring your own device screen mirroring

capability, providing wireless screen sharing for all iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Chromebook devices.

Connection is quick and easy, and support for AirPlay, Chromecast, and Miracast mirroring protocols means that no software, apps or dongles are needed when sharing content on-screen from smartphones, tablets or laptops. Its user interface is very easy to use. Designed using a secure Linux operating system, Cynap Core Pro uses a closed read-only system providing enterprise level security.

devices are the last, most important mile for how you show up in a meeting and that makes all the difference in getting where you want to go. Poly Studio P Series gives you confidence that you can flawlessly deliver, every time.”

The new range includes the Poly Studio P5 Webcam, Poly Studio P15 Personal Video Bar, and Poly Studio P21 Personal Meeting Display. Poly Studio P5 Kits are also available for an out-of-the-box experience, bundling the new Studio P5 camera with select award-winning headsets or the portable Poly Sync intelligent speakerphone.

Poly’s Studio P Series was made available for purchase from April 2021 on Poly.com and with authorised resellers and select retailers worldwide. The Poly Studio P15 is available for pre-order and is Zoom and Microsoft Teams certified.

POLY STUDIO P SERIES POLY recently launched the industry’s first "professional-grade" personal video conferencing equipment, developed with remote workers in mind. The Poly Studio P Series applies Poly’s professional AV expertise to create fine-tuned camera optics with automatic low-light compensation for "broadcastquality" video.

“We’re in a new era of work with classroom collaborators, mobile medical providers, and boardroom brainstormers,” said Tom Puorro, executive vice president and general manager of global products at Poly. “Your video and audio conferencing

www.Installation-International.com

49

Inside Track

Find out what stories you have missed on the INSTALLATION WEBSITE or our DAILY MAILER in the last few weeks with our round-up of the latest news announcements, installs and exclusives

disguise announced as official partner for immersive theatres

AVIXA reports further acceleration in pro AV growth

disguise has been selected among the technology partners for Illuminarium Experiences, a first-of-its-kind immersive programmable, theatre initiative transporting visitors to the wildest corners of the world, from one location.

Illuminarium has chosen disguise to provide media playback systems and video server technology, pushing 4K content on one of the largest LED canvases in the world.

Illuminarium’s immersive venues will transport millions to places they can only dream of by placing them “inside” another world with techniques used in traditional motion picture production and virtual reality. Visitors can experience real-world, filmed content (like a safari) and authentic, re-created worlds in an immersive environment. WILD: A Safari Experience, the first venue, opened 1 July in Atlanta, taking visitors around the African Safari on a multi-sensory journey brought to life with the help of cuttingedge technology, including the latest disguise hardware.

20 disguise vx 4 media servers and 12 rx rendering nodes power real-time generated cinematic scenes at a 240-degree native field of view (versus the average 210-degree human field of view).

AV sales growth has accelerated to new pandemic-era highs according to AVIXA. The organisation’s latest Pro AV Business Index shows the AV sales index (AVI-S) reaching 63.7, 4.5 points up from the already strong 59.2 mark reported in April and the highest level since August 2019.

Improvements in the pandemic situation are the primary driving force behind the AV spending surge, with greater international proliferation of vaccines combining with major declines in global case counts to add significant fuel to the economic engine.

“Between good news on Covid-19, our research to create our new Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis, and latest sales numbers, we believe we’re headed for record highs in the AVI-S,” said Peter Hansen, economic analyst, AVIXA. “Timing-wise, a score of 70 seems reasonable by the fall, but there are good arguments as to why it could be later. It’s no guarantee, but as the world returns to normal activity, the ceiling for pro AV spending rises.”

The Pro AV Business Index report is derived from a monthly survey of the AVIXA Insights Community, a research community of industry members that tracks business trends in commercial AV.

50

www.Installation-International.com

Observatory and planetarium upgrades cinema with HARMAN Auckland’s Stardome Observatory and Planetarium recently upgraded its cinema and live performance venue with a complete HARMAN Professional networked surround sound system, comprising JBL Professional loudspeakers, network-connected Crown amplifiers, BSS signal processors and a Soundcraft digital mixing console.

Stardome organisers hired integrators Avid Automation and HARMAN distributor JPRO to deliver the system.

The Stardome’s observatory opened to the public in 1967, while the planetarium – the largest in New Zealand – launched in 1997. The venue features a panoramic theatre with a full-dome concave screen, laser projectors and IMAX angled seating for an immersive 360-degree viewing experience. Doubling as both a cinema and live performance venue, the Stardome needed a versatile sound system to support a wide range of events.

JBL AE Series loudspeakers were picked for the theatre’s surround sound system. JBL AM7215/95 high-power two-way loudspeakers provides left and right channels, while a single AM7215/26 loudspeaker with a 120- by 60-degree rotatable waveguide provides coverage for the critical center channel.

From the web

Maverick AV Solutions and Crestron confirm UC distribution deal

Nureva audio systems introduced to Malaysian market Nureva has announced the appointment of value-added AV reseller Hitecindo Kharisma (M) Sdn. Bhd. (HIKA) as its direct reseller in Malaysia. The company has begun to introduce Nureva’s audio conferencing product line to the Malaysian market, where there is an increasing need for reliable audio to support the country’s growing hybrid working and learning environments.

Powered by patented Microphone Mist technology, Nureva audio conferencing systems fill rooms with thousands of virtual microphones so in-room participants can move around, maintain physical distance and still be heard clearly by remote participants. The Nureva product line includes the HDL200 for small rooms, HDL300 for mid-size rooms and Dual HDL300 for large rooms.

“I haven’t been this excited about a new innovation in a long time and believe that Nureva audio systems with Microphone Mist technology have tremendous market potential in Malaysia,” said C.K. Lum, HIKA’s CEO. “Traditional audio products come with costly restrictions and challenges that Nureva systems avoid, and I’m proud to work with them to get this game-changing product into schools and businesses across the country.”

Nancy Knowlton, Nureva’s CEO, added: “We are delighted to welcome HIKA to our growing international channel.

We look forward to working with them to address the critical need for audio conferencing solutions that support the long-term trend of hybrid working and learning in Malaysia.”

PPDS overtakes rivals to become market leader in Nordics PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips professional TV and digital signage solutions, has been named the market leader in the Nordics for the first time, as a result of sustained growth and record sales in the region.

According to the latest official industry figures from respected research firm, DMR AS, PPDS has seen its market share surpass that of its nearest competitors, reaching a commanding 36% at the end of Q1.

The figures, which cover sales in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, cover a range of product categories within the commercial TV market, including 4K UHD, FHD and HD, and show that PPDS’ market share during this period was almost four times higher than that of Sony and nearly double that of Samsung.

“The figure is testament to the hard work invested in our team through a challenging period,” said Mikael da Fonseca, sales director, Nordics and Baltics at PPDS.

Maverick AV Solutions has confirmed an agreement with Crestron to distribute its range of unified communication solutions globally, initially in in 16 European territories, the US and Canada. The move is designed to meet the growing demand for collaboration solutions.

“Crestron is one of the most wellestablished brands in the AV market,” said Joel Chimoindes, vice president, Maverick Europe said. “Their product ranges for UC and platform-led communications are second to none and they are quickly emerging as leader in hybrid workspaces, with an ecosystem of products for all meeting environments. This collaboration will enable us to make them more accessible to our partners. Crestron’s accredited devices will be a great fit for our diverse community of partners.”

The agreement includes Crestron’s Flex Enterprise UC products, including Microsoft Teams certified devices, including video and audio room solutions, audio conferencing, personal communication devices, room booking panels, IoT sensors and wireless content sharing solutions.

“We’re delighted to partner with Maverick AV Solutions to expand our reach to a new market of customers,” said Charlie James, director sales WW UC device partners at Crestron. “This engagement is a step forward in creating additional channels for enterprises to purchase solutions, and we look forward to offering our enterprise portfolio of select Microsoft Teams certified devices to a wider audience globally.”

www.Installation-International.com

51

CONNECTORS. CREATORS. EXPERIENCE MAKERS.

We Are Future Future is a global platform for specialist media with scalable, diversified brands. We connect people to their passions through the high-quality content we create, the innovative technology we pioneer and the engaging experiences we deliver.

Our Services Our partners look to us to make unique and valuable connections in a number of ways including creative advertising solutions, memorable live experiences, superior eCommerce technology and innovative media services. We push boundaries, seize opportunities and exceed expectations.

See how we can take your business to the next level. Learn more at futureplc.com

AV/PRO AUDIO/MEDIA TECHNOLOGY •AV Technology •Residential Systems •Creative Planet •Sound & Video Network Contractor •Installation •Systems Contractor •Mix News •Pro Sound News •TWICE •Radio World

MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT •Broadcasting & Cable •Multichannel News •Next TV •TV Technology •TVBEurope

KNOWLEDGE & EDUCATION •Tech & Learning •Tech & Learning University

For more information on these brands and the many others offered from FUTURE, as well as subscription information for all of FUTURE’s print and electronic products, visit www.futureplc.com.

Latest Appointments

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Stay in the loop with the latest appointments, top hires, and promotions from across the AV industry…

PPDS APPOINTS EXPERIENCED LED

HARMAN PICKS NEW PRODUCTION

SALES SPECIALIST FOR BENELUX

AUDIO SALES MANAGER

PPDS has announced the appointment of AV specialist Rutger Schaap as its new senior sales manager for Benelux. Schaap has held a number of senior management positions at organisations including Tech Data, Sony and LG during his ten-year career.

Reporting to Roeland Scholten, sales director Benelux for PPDS, Schaap’s new role will see him tasked with further developing and strengthening sales of PPDS’ evolving LED solutions, with retail, corporate, public spaces, healthcare, education and broadcast among the core market vertical focus areas.

“We’re delighted to have someone of Rutger’s calibre join the team,” said Scholten. “With more than ten years’ experience in the professional AV industry, he not only comes to PPDS with a wealth of experience and product knowledge, but also a vast industry network.”

HARMAN Professional Solutions has announced that Daniella Peters has joined the North America audio team as national sales manager, production audio. Peters brings 18 years’ experience working at Rat Sound Systems, an international pro audio sales, installations and touring sound company based in California.

At Rat Sound Systems, Peters developed the sales and installs division and worked with clients including ATK, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Pearl Jam and The Hollywood Bowl. She has also been a member of the production and audio teams for festivals including the Coachella and Stagecoach annual music festivals.

Peters’ qualifications include a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manchester School of Management, as well as a year studying business at Paris Dauphine University in Paris, France.

AUDIO VISUAL MATERIAL APPOINTS

TIG CONFIRMS NEW SALES ENGINEER

NEW SALES DIRECTOR

FOR CRESTRON SPAIN

AV distributor Audio Visual Material has engaged “industry heavyweight” Ioan Williams as director of sales.

Williams is well known within the AV industry, with a career spanning 23 years including roles at Sharp, Hitachi and latterly Hisense.

“Ioan brings a wealth of experience that will benefit Audio Visual Material in directing our sales efforts and spearheading growth as we come out of the pandemic,” said Mark Nisbet, Audio Visual Material managing director.

On his decision to join Audio Visual Material, Williams commented: “I’ve spent many years working with technology manufacturers and have always been interested in the distribution side of the channel. The opportunity to join AVM was just too good to turn down and I jumped at the chance to be involved.”

TECHNOLOGICAL Innovations Group (TIG), the exclusive sales agency for Crestron in EMEA, has welcomed Pablo Gallardo Sanz to the Crestron sales team in Spain, where he will take on the role of sales engineer.

Based in Madrid, Pablo will report into TIG’s country manager for Crestron in Iberia, Antonio Ortega. He will be the go-to technical expert for customers in the region and will support the sales team in ensuring they always deliver to the clients’ exact needs.

“We’re excited to have Pablo’s industry knowledge, experience and technical expertise on the team,” said Ortega. “He will be a great support to our sales managers and will help to deliver the perfect design and slick development of projects for all our Crestron customers.”

Sanz added: “This new challenge means a lot to me: I’m proud to be a part of Crestron.”

www.Installation-International.com

53

INSIDE TRACK Jeff Hastings, CEO of BrightSign on digital signage evolution, the Covid-19 pandemic, bring your own device (BYOD), his passion for technology and his vision for the company

What inspired you to pursue a career in digital signage?

My experience in creating new technology started when I was an undergrad. I worked full time in an ultrasound research lab. I started building software that would acquire the prototype ultrasound signals and create images from them. This got me interested in HW, SW and imaging. Over the years, my experience leading engineering departments for ReplayTV and Rio Digital Audio led me to working with Anthony Wood at Roku.

What was your vision when you joined BrightSign?

I had a vision of developing a product that served the needs of this evolving market. I saw devices in the market that were basically being shoe-horned into the task at hand and not performing reliably or securely. Digital signage just isn’t worth the cost of implementation if there are blank screens or worse, the Windows 'blue screen of death'. I knew I could lead a team to make something that just worked; something end-users could rely on.

How has digital signage evolved since you joined BrightSign over ten years ago?

Digital signage has evolved from a very niche market of screens showing images and video to an extremely innovative industry using the latest hardware, software and cloud technologies to enable immersive experiences in virtually every vertical market, as well as secure and reliable cloud networking features.

How has Covid changed the industry?

Covid has changed how the industry defines interactivity, leading to new solutions and ‘outside-the-box’ thinking. Touchless interactivity had been under consideration for a long time, but these solutions have been accelerated in today’s unique circumstances. Heightened hygiene awareness is likely to stick around for a long time after the pandemic, so touchless digital displays are definitely here to stay. It also seems that Covid has rolled out the benefits of digital to some businesses that were still sticking with traditional signage. Digital signage pivoted rapidly from offering promotional and marketing messages to become a vehicle for communicating critically important health and safety messages to patrons, employees and the public at-large.

Are customers still happy to use touch screens, and what alternatives can the industry offer?

Understandably, given the public health warnings, there is 54

www.Installation-International.com

increased caution amongst many customers about using touch screens. The industry has responded by accelerating the roll-out of technologies that minimise or eliminate the need for contact.

Many of these technologies are not new, but have been the subject of renewed focus. Sensors that recognise the presence of a hand in the field of vision can trigger responses from the content, and some can even register swiping motions for navigation of content. There’s also been more investment in BYOD solutions, where customers scan a QR code and interact with a digital display through their own device.

During the pandemic, how important has BYOD been and how has technology evolved to improve access to signage from customers' own devices?

BYOD has provided a safe and fun way for customers to interact with digital signage. In addition, it has provided businesses with another safe means to re-introduce interactivity. BYOD solutions do not require internet connection or an app, making them accessible for all businesses to make use of. We foresee that interacting mobile devices with displays will become much more popular in retail.

What professional achievements are you most proud of?

With regard to BrightSign, I am most proud of taking a business from loss to profitability and turning a niche product into something that is usable by the general audience and respected by the market.

What is your broader vision for the digital signage industry?

I think the industry as a whole needs to focus on bringing ease-ofuse and raising the bar for quality experiences and reliability. Lots of companies focus on new things but forget that the biggest problem in digital signage is blank screens and the [aforementioned] 'blue screen of death'. That must become unacceptable in order to advance the industry as a whole.

READ THE FULL VERSION ONLINE

An extended iteration of this interview is available on our website.

To read it, click here.

If you’re reading our print edition go to: https://bit.ly/3ipC7RP

9000