Sound & Communications May 2019, Vol 65 No 5

A P P L I C A T I O N A N D T E C H N O L O G Y A V C O M M E R C I A L

May 20, 2019 Vol. 65 No. 5

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CONTENTS Volume 65 Number 5

A P P L I C A T I O N

F E AT U R E S 44 MAGNET SCHOOL CREATES STIMULATING ENVIRONMENT

Professional-grade equipment educates High Tech High School students.

By Andy McDonough

60 COLLABORATIVE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT Mt. San Antonio College staff and AV integrator create campus of the future.

By Dan Daley

49

70 DENTAL SCHOOL’S NEW HYBRID CURRICULUM Live group and archived lectures educate at Western University.

A N D

86 CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE WITH A HUMAN TOUCH

C O M M E R C I A L

A V

78 AV INTEGRATORS ANALYZE DSE 2019

T E C H N O L O G Y

By Jim Stokes

6

Expert opinion on Digital Signage Expo coming from two unique perspectives.

By Mike White, CTS, DSCE, DSDE, and Robert White, CTS, DSCE, DSDE

Amicus Therapeutics leverages emerging technology to boost innovation and productivity.

By Noel Gish

64 DEPARTMENTS 11 NEWSLETTER 30 INDUSTRY POV

Collaborative Learning: New technologies open up a new frontier in classrooms and beyond.

By Chris Feldman

32 INDUSTRY POV

Leveraging Wi-Fi In The Classroom: It can be invaluable for voice amplification and assistive listening.

By Carrie Keele

36 INDUSTRY POV

Communicating On Campus: Education institutions are poised to move digital signage into the classroom.

By Eric Henry

40 INDUSTRY POV

Taming 25V Systems To Excel In

Sound & Communications May 2019

COLUMNS 8 WAVELENGTH

The Audio Mix: Key insights and actionable advice for the education campus.

By Dan Ferrisi

14 SOUND ADVICE

By Jim Schwenzer

42 INDUSTRY POV

20

Education Revolution: Today’s AV technology offers major benefits for improving education outcomes.

18 IOT

By Ken Scaturro

20 HOUSE OF WORSHIP: BUSINESS

By David Lee Jr., PhD

By Brandon Breznick

90 MARKET BRIEF 92 NEWS 94 CALENDAR 100 PEOPLE 101 PRODUCTS 106 SOFTWARE 106 MEDIA 107 CENTERSTAGE 114 MARKETPLACE

By Peter Mapp, PhD, FASA, FAES

22 THE COMMISH 28

By James Maltese, CTS-D, CTS-I, CQD, CQT

26 WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

By Douglas Kleeger, CTS-D, DMC-E/S, XTP-E, KCD

28 AVIXA POV

By Sean Wargo

116 AVENT HORIZON 32

By Pete Putman, CTS

WAVELENGTH In an industr y as dynamic and everchanging as commercial AV integration, all of us must remain flexible. Imagine if an AV integrator, accustomed to creating discrete systems that did not interact with facilities’ IT backbones, refused to evolve to join the modern age of converged systems. Such a firm, even if its team were replete with talent, would struggle to sur vive in an age when IT-savvy technology managers have risen in importance and become the principal decision-makers on many projects. Imagine if an AV integrator, nostalgic for an age when folks drooled about specs and speeds, declined to move into the experiential age. Such a company would be ill prepared for the user-experience-centered discussions in which contemporar y integration projects are grounded. In short, wistful though some of us might be for bygone eras, adaptation is necessar y.

Flexibility has been a guiding principle at Sound & Communications throughout our more than six decades of publishing. The latest illustration is our decision

to modify the long-running and muchbeloved “House of Worship: Technology” department, which we created in the mid-2000s at a time when the house-ofworship (HoW) market segment was the undisputed leader among verticals for AV professionals. Make no mistake: The HoW segment remains in the top tier of revenue generators for AV integrators, consultants and design/install firms, but jobs in other verticals—namely, education and corporate—have become increasingly profitable and prolific. In light of that, we’d be remiss not to adapt alongside the industr y that we cover.

Our plan is for “House of Worship: Technology” to appear about three times yearly, while introducing “Education: Technology” and “Corporate: Technology” as departments that will each appear about three times annually. Because ours isn’t a rigid “ones and zeroes” kind of industr y, we will remain nimble; we reser ve the right to modify the frequency of each department depending on the exclusive leads our network of sources brings us. We might even mix things up

and publish, say, an “Entertainment: Technology” piece sometime as a oneoff. After all, this change is rooted in being flexible.

As he’s done with “HoW: Tech” for the past couple of years, Dan Ferrisi Anthony Vargas will oversee these new departments and ensure the technologies discussed are cutting edge, the venues are intriguing and the narratives are engaging. And, although these departments will not include the complete equipment lists that you find in our monthly installation features, the depth of reporting will match the gold standard to which you, our readers, have grown accustomed.

If you have feedback about this change, please share it. I’m reachable at dferrisi@testa.com.

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A V F O R S Y S T E M S I N T E G R AT O R S , C O N T R A C T O R S A N D C O N S U LTA N T S

Editor Dan Ferrisi dferrisi@testa.com Associate Editor Anthony Vargas avargas@testa.com Assistant Editor Amanda Mullen amullen@testa.com Contributing Editors Pete Putman, CTS Jim Stokes

Contributors Brandon Breznick Dan Daley Chris Feldman Noel Gish Eric Henry Carrie Keele Douglas Kleeger, CTS-D, DMC-E/S, XTP-E, KCD David Lee Jr., PhD James Maltese, CTS-D, CTS-I, CQD, CQT Peter Mapp, PhD, FASA, FAES Andy McDonough Pete Putman, CTS Ken Scaturro Jim Schwenzer Jim Stokes Sean Wargo Mike White Robert White Technical Council Joseph Bocchiaro III, PhD, CStd, CTS-D, CTS-I, ISF-C, The Sextant Group, Inc. Douglas Kleeger, CTS-D, DMC-E/S, XTP-E, KCD David Lee Jr., PhD, Lee Communication Inc. Peter Mapp, PhD, FASA, FAES, Peter Mapp Associates Pete Putman, CTS, ROAM Consulting LLC Art Director Janice Pupelis jpupelis@testa.com Digital Art Director Fred Gumm Production Manager Steve Thorakos Sales Assistant/Ad Traffic Jeannemarie Graziano jgraziano@testa.com Advertising Manager Robert L. Iraggi riraggi@testa.com Classifieds classifiedsales@testa.com Circulation circulation@testa.com

Operations Manager Robin Hazan Associate Publisher John Carr jcarr@testa.com President/Publisher Vincent P. Testa Editorial and Sales Office Sound & Communications 25 Willowdale Avenue Port Washington, New York 11050-3779 (516) 767-2500 | FAX: (516) 767-9335 Sound & Communications Sound & Communications Blue Book IT/AV Report The Music & Sound Retailer DJ Times • DJ Expo ConventionTV@NAMM ConventionTV@InfoComm

CONTRIBUTORS Brandon Breznick, Assistant Communications Manager with Premier Mounts, heads public relations and strategicoutreach initiatives as a key part of the marketing team.

He delivers a future vision for brand-awareness growth within the AV community.

As a Product Manager for NEC Display Solutions of America, Chris Feldman brings new solutions to market utilizing NEC Display technologies. Feldman currently manages market solutions and accessories, such as collaborative displays and SOC technologies.

Noel Gish is a multi-year veteran of the collaboration industry, now serving as Yorktel’s VP of Business Development.

Eric Henry is the President of Carousel Digital Signage, a signage CMS provider based in Minneapolis MN. His primary focus is on building strategic partnerships across technology providers to further strengthen the overall value of signage investments. Prior to joining Carousel, he worked at Tierney Brothers, a dealer and systems integration firm.

Carrie Keele manages channel marketing for the pro audio business unit at Listen Technologies, a provider of assistive-listening technology for 21 years. She is driven to advocate for the hearing impaired and to increase awareness of assistive listening.

Andy McDonough has been a musician, freelance writer and technology consultant for more than 25 years. His company, LearningFirm Media, provides education, training and technology solutions for Fortune 500 companies, arts institutions and government agencies.

Contributing Editor Jim Stokes has been involved in the AV industry as an AV technician and writer for 40 years. Read his thriller novel, Sunrise Across America, which includes an AV mystery chapter; for information, contact him at wordsandmusique@gmail. com.

Sean Wargo is Senior Director of Market Intelligence for the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA). He is former VP of BDS Research and Director of Industry Analysis for the Consumer Technology Association.

Mike White, CTS, DSCE, DSDE, is Director of Business Development – Digital Signage for Unified Technology Systems, a commercial AV systems integration company based in Atlanta GA. He served for four years on the AVIXA Board of Directors, and he is a speaker for AVIXA digital signage programs and at Digital Signage Expo.

Robert White, CTS, DSCE, DSDE, Lead Engineer for Unified Technology Systems, focuses on where AV and IT meet. An industry veteran of 10-plus years, White specializes in digital signage solutions and oversees all of Unified AV’s largest digital signage deployments, both domestically and internationally.

Sound & Communications (ISSN 0038-1845) (USPS 943-140) is published monthly for $25 (US), $35 (Canada & Mexico) and $65 (all other countries), by Sound & Communications Publications, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779.

Periodicals postage paid at Port Washington, NY, and additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2019 SOUND & COMMUNICATIONS PUBLISHING, INC. Reprint of any part of contents without permission is forbidden. Titles Registered in the U.S. Patent Office.

POSTMASTER: Send U.S. address changes to Sound & Communications, PO Box 1767, Lowell, MA 01853-1767. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.

May 2019

Sound & Communications

9

NEWSLETTER BROADSIGN AGREES TO ACQUIRE AYUDA Broadsign (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) has reached an agreement to acquire out-of-home (OOH) enterprise business solution Ayuda Media Systems (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). The combination of Broadsign and Ayuda, the companies said, will enable OOH media owners to streamline business operations across all of their inventory, digital and classic. The transaction is expected to close in Q2/19.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to bring together two market leaders in OOH software,” Burr Smith, President and CEO of Broadsign, said. “Together, we can help media owners drive greater efficiency in their businesses, while, at the same time, realize the full potential of the industry as it becomes increasingly digital. The OOH industry has never been in a better place. However, to accelerate growth even more, media owners and their advertisers need access to the most innovative capabilities available, such as tools for revenue optimization and the ability to sell via programmatic buying channels—both of which we can help them access.”

Last year, Broadsign evolved from a content management system to a digital-out-of-home (DOOH) marketing platform and launched three new products, including its programmatic DOOH solution, Broadsign Reach. With the acquisition of Ayuda Media Systems, the company will employ 230 people globally and power more than 425,000 signs around the world, including more than 180,000 digital signs.

This transaction represents the first acquisition in Broadsign’s 15-year history.

PATRICK C. WHIPKEY ANNOUNCED AS DIRECTOR OF USAV USAV (Westminster CO), a division of PSA, has appointed Patrick C. Whipkey as the Director of USAV. In the role, Whipkey will cultivate relationships with integrators, manufacturers, serviceprovider partners and associations within the network. He will also manage programs and collaborate with the management and executive teams on the overall strategic direction of USAV. Prior to joining PSA, Whipkey spent 10 years with IMS Technology Services, a USAV integration group member company, where he served in multiple roles, most recently as Director of Project Management. “IMS was instrumental in my growth; I felt like, as the company grew, so did I,” Whipkey said. “I’m looking forward to continuing my work in the commercial AV industry through a different lens with the USAV team.”

Whipkey boasts more than 19 years’ experience serving the commercial AV and residential AV sectors. According to Chris Salazar-Mangrum, Managing Director of USAV, “His passion for technology, his continued drive to push the industry forward and his ability to build relationships with people in the industry truly highlighted the strengths of what Patrick brings to the team.”

NV5 GLOBAL ACQUIRES THE SEXTANT GROUP NV5 Global, Inc. (NV5, Hollywood FL), a provider of professional and technical engineering and consulting solutions, has acquired The Sextant Group, Inc. (Pittsburgh PA), a national provider of audiovisual, information and communications technology, acoustics consulting and design services.

The Sextant Group has 11 locations and project offices throughout the US, and it’s well known for creating integrated technology solutions for a wide range of public-sector and private-sector clients. The Sextant Group’s 80 technology professionals have provided expertise on more than 2,000 projects in 46 states. The acquisition was an all-cash transaction, and it will be immediately accretive to NV5’s earnings.

Dickerson Wright, PE, Chairman and CEO of NV5, said, “The acquisition of The Sextant Group positions NV5 as a national leader in building technologies. The company is a strategic fit with our fast-growing building technology group, and it significantly differentiates our mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) design offerings to our national and international clients, specifically in the higher-education, hospitality, corporate, civic and healthcare market sectors. With The Sextant Group’s technology capabilities, NV5 can play an increasingly important role in the design or retrofit of ‘smart’ buildings.”

Mark Valenti, Founder of The Sextant Group, commented, “We are eager to become a part of NV5 and play a You could have received this NEWSLETTER information about three weeks ago, with more detail and live links, via email. Go to www.soundandcommunications.com to sign up!

May 2019

Sound & Communications 11

NEWSLETTER leading role in expanding NV5’s building technologies group nationwide and abroad. Teamed with NV5, we will be able to offer greater opportunities to our employees and broader capabilities to our clients.”

L-ACOUSTICS ACQUIRES DELTALIVE UK L-Acoustics (Marcoussis, France), a prominent name in professional sound solutions, and L-Acoustics Group, a family of companies focused on the design, manufacture and commercialization of L-Acoustics sound systems, have announced the future acquisition of a majority stake in Delta Sound Incorporated (UK) Ltd. (DeltaLive UK, West Molesey, UK), a specialist in audiovisual services and rental. This follows last November’s acquisition by L-Acoustics Group of HGP, a manufacturer of precision sheet metal, and its sibling entity, API, specializing in powder coating.

For the Founders of DeltaLive UK, Paul Keating and Mark Bonner, this transaction coincides with the sale of their Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based operations, Delta Sound LLC, to PRG. According to L-Acoustics Group, the acquisition of DeltaLive UK vertically reinforces its expertise in all areas of professional audio—from conception through to manufacturing and operation in the field—widening the possibilities for fresh creative and collaborative approaches to the deployment of audio and visual technologies to enhance the audience experience.

SIGNET ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS ACQUIRES SIDEBAND SYSTEMS SIGNET Electronic Systems, Inc. (SIGNET, Norwell MA) has acquired Sideband Systems (Peabody MA), a 27-year-old technology systems integrator that specializes in high-performance wireless systems for high-capacity, licensed and unlicensed microwave systems, in-building wireless local area network (LAN) engineering studies and dependable in-building wireless communications support.

Sideband Systems’ technical staff possesses decades of experience designing advanced systems, including Cisco routers and switches, channel banks and cross connect systems, T1 loop systems and high-end microwave radio systems. The Sideband Systems office will remain in Peabody. All existing Sideband Systems technical support aspects will be operated from this north shore office.

Brad Caron, President and Owner of SIGNET, expressed excitement to onboard Sideband Systems’ technologies and people. He said, “I’m pleased to have new resources and capabilities to continue driving value for our clients. I look forward to expanding our technology footprint and welcoming Sideband Systems’ staff to our team of talented individuals.”

AVIXA AWARD WINNERS TO BE RECOGNIZED AT INFOCOMM AVIXA (Fairfax VA) has announced the 2019 recipients of its annual awards. Honorees will be recognized during a ceremony on InfoComm’s Center Stage at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando FL on June 12.

Each year, AVIXA recognizes AV professionals for their contributions, leadership and commitment to excellence. The award winners for this year are as follows: Adele De Berri Pioneers of AV Award: Tom Danley, Co-Founder and Designer, Danley Sound Labs; Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement Award: Steven Somers, retired, Extron; Fred Dixon Service in Education Award: Gordon Moore, President, Lectrosonics; Harald Thiel Volunteer of the Year Award: Jose Carselle, CTS-D, International Advanced Application Engineer, QSC; CTS Holder of the Year Award: Rob Ziv, CTS-D, CTS-I, Director of Business Development, Almo Professional AV; Educator of the Year Award: Jeremy Elsesser, CTS-D, CTS-I, President, Level 3 Audiovisual; Women in AV Award: Laurie Englert, VP of Customer Experience, Legrand, and Lisa Thorburn, LEED-AP, CTS, President, Thorburn Associates; Young AV Professionals Award: Ben Boeshans, CTS-D, Senior Consultant, Idibri.

“Congratulations to all this year’s winners,” David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD, CEO of AVIXA, said.

“This industry continues to be lifted and enriched by the many creative, innovative, committed professionals who devote their time and expertise. AVIXA is especially fortunate to benefit from so many of their contributions.”

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Juggernauts & Low Loaders How loudspeakers and loudspeaker circuits can spring a surprise on an unsuspecting amplifier.

By Peter Mapp, PhD, FASA, FAES

F

or many years, it has interested me (actually bemused would be a better adjective) that, in the PA, AV and Hi-Fi worlds, we always seem to refer to loudspeaker or loudspeaker circuit impedance as a single numerical value.

For example, we term Hi-Fi or low-impedance AV loudspeakers as being 8Ω or 4Ω, or when measuring high-impedance distributed loudspeaker circuits it is normal practice to just measure or quote the impedance at 1kHz. This latter practice is compounded by most impedance meters only being able to measure at this one frequency, though sometimes a lower frequency facility may also be provided. For example, I have impedance meters that read at 100, 1k and 10kHz, and another that measures at 63, 250, 1k, 4k and 8kHz. This latter meter was, for many years, my favorite go-to device, as it enabled a much better insight to be obtained, enabling high- and low-frequency drivers, for example, to be checked.

Oftentimes, however, a quick 1kHz measurement suffices when we are checking circuits, as we may only be looking to check the general circuit integrity or checking for shorted, open circuit or gross overload conditions.

However, many times, I want to have a more detailed view on what is happening. For example, a check at 1kHz won’t really tell you if the speakers or combination of speakers are likely to be

14 Sound & Communications May 2019

Figure 1: Hi-Fi monitor impedance curve.

Figure 2: Site impedance measurement of two distributed loudspeaker circuits.

overloading an amplifier or getting close to capacity.

Let me give you some examples. Figure 1 is an impedance measurement I made on one of my reference monitor Hi-Fi speakers. Although not the final nir vana (these units cost around $3,500 a pair), to my ears they were well worth the money, as despite having several other good-quality speakers, I keep returning to these as my preferred monitors. They have an excellent frequency response and balance and image superbly. However, I noticed that, on some tracks, there occasionally appeared to be some just-noticeable clipping. The units are stated to have a nominal impedance of 8Ω,

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Figure 3: Site impedance measurement of two distributed loudspeaker circuits.

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and being from a well-known and respected manufacturer, I took this at face value, particularly as the manual doesn’t publish their impedance cur ve. After buying a second, well-recorded CD and finding that this too produced occasional clipping, it was time to investigate the problem.

To cut a long story short, I measured the loudspeaker’s impedance for myself.

The resulting impedance measurement is shown in Figure 1. (The green curve is the magnitude and grey is the phase). How on earth these speakers were rated at 8Ω totally mystifies me, as they are nothing like this. The third graticule line up from the bottom of the plot is at 7.8Ω, which is close enough to 8Ω for an engineer. Therefore, it’s not until 400Hz or 500Hz is approached that the impedance gets into the expected range. Bearing in mind that these particular loudspeakers go down to 29Hz (-6dB), it means that the bottom three octaves of operation have an impedance well below 8Ω. Furthermore, if you look at where the cursor is placed toward the left of the figure, you will see that the impedance dips to just 3.0Ω at around 56Hz. Bearing in mind that virtually all music has its maximum energy in the 63, 125 and 250Hz octave bands, I can now see why my amplifier was struggling and occasionally clipping, as both it and I thought it would be seeing around 8Ω, not 3Ω to 4Ω.

So what about high-impedance (70/100Vline) loudspeakers and circuits?

It never ceases to amaze me that many high-impedance loudspeakers exhibit pretty much the correct/expected impedance at 1kHz (coincidentally where all the impedance meters operate!), but at the frequencies where it really matters, all bets are off.

Figure 2, for example, shows the impedance of a distributed, high-impedance loudspeaker circuit measured on site at a large stadium complex. (Note that the frequency resolution is 1/3 octave rather than the 1/24 octave resolution of Figure 1). The circuits in question relate to subsidiar y areas such as stairs, concourses and lounges, and not to the main-bowl spectator system, which employs lowimpedance speakers/signal distribution.

Figure 2 shows the impedance for two

Figure 4: Typical PA speaker-load impedance characteristics.

circuits being fed from 240W amplifiers. (These are European 100V line circuits, so that 50Ω corresponds to 200W and 40Ω corresponds to 250W).

At 1kHz (as measured by an impedance

meter), the impedances are 52Ω for the concourse circuit and 66Ω for the area covered using re-entrant horns. These impedances correspond to 192W and 151W, respectively, so both reasonable

loadings for a 240W-rated amplifier. Now, 240W equates on a 100V line system to 42Ω, so over the range from 125Hz to 315Hz, the amplifier ser ving the re-entrant horns is fully loaded with no spare capacity or headroom—not the picture presented by the 1kHz measurement.

Equally, at 100Hz to 125Hz, the sound projector circuit (red cur ve) exceeds the rated output value of the amplifier and does not have the 20-percent spare capacity indicated by the 1kHz measurement.

Figure 3 shows another set of real loudspeaker circuit loudspeaker measurements. These circuits employ loudspeakers that are reasonably similar to each other—at least electrically—though, from the graph, it can be seen that their resonant frequencies are a little different at 160Hz and 250Hz. The nominal amplifier load at 1kHz is 190Ω for both circuits (53W at 100V), and so borderline for a 60W amplifier. Looking at the 100Hz to 125Hz region again confirms this, as (continued on page 112)

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IoT

The Future Of Work: Influencers, Impact And Benefits Is it time to jump onto the millennial bandwagon?

By Ken Scaturro Yorktel

T

he traditional workforce as we know it is undergoing a seismic shift, dubbed the “Future of Work.”

Over the past decade, demographic and socioeconomic changes, plus advances in technology, have generated an evolution in the workforce. Global organizations are homing in on how to attract and retain top talent, particularly as automation and AI are changing the nature of the job pool.

The Influencers The rise of the millennial—According to Forbes, “By 2030, millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce.”1 The millennial generation (defined by the Pew Research Center as those born from 1981 to 1996) has distinct preferred work styles: They demand a work/life balance and a flexible schedule, and they expect to leverage consumer technology for their corporate experience. Thanks to their master y of technologies that might mystify previous generations, millennial workers have become key influencers in the Future of Work.

Geographically agnostic IT—Today’s workforce uses the same robust technology at their corporate office hub to work from home or from the road. Reliable mobility enables peer collaboration via productivity tools specifically designed to facilitate virtual connectivity. So-called “enabling technologies” boost this geographical freedom. Cloud-enabled virtualization has eliminated bandwidth considerations,

and today’s teens have never experienced the pains of dial-up internet. Powerful transport, network availability, virtualized productivity tools and device-in-your-hand versatility have all shifted productivity into high gear, allowing today’s workforce to operate more quickly and more collaboratively, anytime, anywhere. Geography is largely no longer a barrier to a virtual work style.

The Impact Transforming the traditional office space—Socioenvironmental factors and millennial expectations eschew traditional office layouts featuring closed-door sanctuaries for the elite surrounded by cubes for the masses. The Future of Work embraces lesshierarchical environments, and instead reflects the free and open nature of evolving work styles. It’s still all about location, location, location—but the location has expanded to comprise anywhere with network access, which is generally…anywhere!

Consider the domino effect of these physical work arrangements on the corporate bottom line. If workers operate remotely on loose schedules, perhaps coming into the office three or four times per week, corporations can reduce desk space and therefore real estate costs by approximately 20 percent. Corporations’ number-one cost is employees (salaries, benefits, etc.). The second-highest cost is real estate.2 A 20-percent reduction in a corporate hub such as Los Angeles CA, New York NY or Miami FL provides a big incentive to embrace Future of Work trends.

Adopting flexible hiring practices and work styles—The technology and generational changes mentioned above have forced Human Resources (HR) departments to modify hiring and work policies to attract and retain the top talent of the millennial generation. A downstream effect of these modifications is that managers must adapt to overseeing a global, virtual employee base.

Unfortunately, the shifts toward hoteling and virtual workers can depersonalize the workplace. Corner-office executives and cube-dwellers alike might personalize their workspace with family pictures or plants, but hoteling eliminates this possibility. Similarly, water-cooler conversations or the brief touchpoints with colleagues before and after meetings are extinct. Losing these brief interludes of live contact does have a social impact—another aspect today’s organizations should consider as they adapt to the Future of Work.

The Benefits The Future of Work promises tremendous benefits for organizations that adopt an intentional strategy addressing all the necessar y changes and their potential impact.

From a numbers perspective, millennials are driving the Future of Work—the officespace redesign, the social and cost implications, the flexible work schedules and more. Companies must cultivate an attractive work environment embracing all these factors in order to draw in this highly sought-after slice of the workforce.

Advancements in technology flow directly from this aspect of personnel driving the Future of Work. Cloud-based solutions and reliable, secure mobility are two of

1 “The Millennial Arrival And The Evolution Of The Modern Workplace,” Forbes, www.sndcom.us/MillennialArrival 2 “CFO Briefing: The Multiplier Ef fect of Corporate Real Estate Spend,” rifiniti, www.sndcom.us/MultiplierEf fect

18 Sound & Communications May 2019

the game-changing factors that have eliminated barriers to finding and accessing this generation’s top talent. For example, tech firms that want access to a pool of highly skilled talent can simply set up a satellite office close to the desired pool and channel their resources to the pool. A law firm can establish a satellite office near Yale Law School and recruit employees directly from that location. This is a drastic advancement in HR and real estate policy—the companies go to the talent pool, rather than vice versa.

of the two. Experienced guidance in this case is critical, as companies that rush to act without preparation can experience huge missteps, causing negative employee sentiment. An effective change-management plan can help organizations understand how to implement change while in the office, facilitate the transition out of the office and ensure user adoption of critical virtualization tools.

Companies should seek a changemanagement partner with Microsoft Certified Partner status and unified communications expertise spanning diverse IT environments. That partner will help you implement the collaborative tools that will enhance your productivity to the greatest degree and foster your organization’s attractive and flexible collaborative culture. They will smooth your path to the Future of Work.

The Critical Role Of Change Management As organizations undertake a digital workplace transformation initiative or make the decision to embrace the Future of Work, an effective changemanagement strategy can mean the difference between a painful trudge filled with pitfalls or a smooth ride along a successful path to growth. Changemanagement expertise can guide you for the duration of your journey to digital transformation, from start to finish.

An effective change-management approach will help you tackle the big questions, such as where you should acquire real estate and how much space you will need. How should you rethink your office space as your occupancy shifts? You will also want to consider the minutia of how technology implementation will impact your office design, collaborative capabilities and evolving workforce. For example, how many screens should you have in this room? How should workers walk into this space and use it most effectively, according to their individual workflows?

Struggles between the five generations that comprise today’s workforce can cause disruption and roadblocks to transformation. HR, management and operations need to account for this tremendous age spread and all the IT drivers and work styles that accompany it. Effective change management can ease this disruption. For example, many companies are transitioning from all-office to all-virtual, or a hybrid

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HOUSE OF WORSHIP: BUSINESS

Livestreaming In Worship A suitable tool for ministry?

By David Lee Jr., PhD Lee Communication Inc.

L

ivestreaming is currently one of the most discussed topics among house of worship (HoW) leaders. The overarching question that drives the discussion is whether livestreaming is a suitable tool for ministr y. There are three primar y perspectives among worship leaders as it pertains to this fundamental question. The leaders whom we can call “early adopters” believe that livestreaming is a powerful tool for ministr y that must be embraced to accommodate people who, for various reasons, are unable physically to attend worship ser vices inside a HoW. We can refer to the second group as “late adopters,” because, although they are interested, they’re still evaluating whether they should adopt livestreaming as a tool for their ministr y. Those in the third categor y I respectfully refer to as the Luddites, because these leaders currently believe that livestreaming might cause congregants to stop physically attending HoW ser vices.

Although these leaders’ perspectives differ, I believe we have an opportunity to create business with all of them.

However, to create business with these leaders, I believe we should understand their underlying perceptions of, and the values they associate with, livestreaming. Therefore, let’s look at the topic of livestreaming from the perspective of worship leaders, so we can be better prepared to engage and ser ve these leaders as valuable assets of our industr y.

Early adopters would say, yes, livestreaming is a suitable ministr y tool when it’s used effectively. However,

20 Sound & Communications May 2019

there is a vital question that all worship leaders ask when evaluating livestreaming for ministerial use: “Will people stop coming to my HoW and opt to view the livestream at home, at Starbucks or on the beach?” Obviously, that is an important— even an existential—question. Why? Because most HoWs (if not all of them) depend on offerings or donations from congregants to keep the doors open and continue the ministr y. Thus, the valid concern—if not outright fear—that leaders have is possibly losing those offerings. There is no value in livestreaming if the offerings dr y up.

The Good News is that, now, we have evidence that indicates thriving HoWs that livestream their worship ser vices continue to thrive, and their offerings continue to grow. More specifically, HoWs that are thriving are those that do the following four things: 1) effectively address spiritual needs; 2) create powerful worship experiences; 3) address human struggles; and 4) create community. For these reasons and others, people want to attend these thriving HoWs. In fact, attending ser vices at such a HoW can be the highlight of a busy week!

Livestreaming, therefore, is primarily for congregants who must miss attending physically due to shift work, a vacation or a short-term illness, but who other wise attend church in person. It’s also important to understand that the livestream is valuable for people who are suffering from long-term illnesses, as well as for elderly folks who cannot physically attend, but who feel connected to their HoW. In addition, the livestream allows “seekers” to sample a HoW while they search for a congregation to meet their spiritual and social needs.

The goal of these thriving HoWs is to create a livestreaming experience that approximates the physical experience. They do this by using a host of professional audio and video production equipment, including many video cameras, substantial audio gear and lighting equipment. The media team uses that gear to create a livestream that has high production values and that enables viewers to engage in a shared experience with congregants. Thus, they feel fully connected to the physical campus.

Livestreaming in HoWs is relatively new. However, new evidence continues to emerge, helping us understand the impact that livestreaming can have as a tool for ministr y. I believe the evidence we have now is credible enough to use to motivate the late adopters and the Luddites—to help them embrace livestreaming as a tool for ministr y. There are a few clarifications I want to note, however. One might associate “a thriving HoW” with large churches and megachurches…and one would be correct. But there are also small and medium-sized HoWs that use livestreaming as an effective ministerial tool. One might also think that late adopters and Luddites are leading smaller HoWs…and one would again be correct. However, that is not a complete perspective. In fact, many late adopters and Luddites lead large HoWs and megachurches. I believe that, ver y soon, they, too, will recognize the value of livestreaming ser vices.

In conclusion, I believe we have a lot of potential business to create with these good people. That is what I believe. Please tell me what you believe.

THE COMMISH

QUALITY

MANAGEMENT

SYSTEMS

Q M S

The greatest achievements begin with first steps.

By James Maltese, CTS-D, CTS-I, CQD, CQT Level 3 Audio Visual In the AV industry, the end users are typically represented by two separate, yet equally important, groups: the designers, who specify the systems, and the integrators who install them. My company acts as a third party to commission these systems.

These are our stories.

AV9000 Checklist Item Under Test: The purpose of a Quality Management System (QMS).

Reasoning: Creating and adopting a QMS can be a daunting task. The goal of any QMS is to provide a consistent experience for all your clients, regardless of which members of your team work on the project.

It also defines what that experience should be. It sounds simple enough… until you get into the nitty gritty of it (process owners, work instructions and corrective actions, oh my!). But regardless of whether it sounds easy, not knowing where to start can stall the effort before it even begins. Consultants can help a lot, as can industr y associations like AQAV and AVIXA. The thing to keep in mind is the purpose behind a QMS: How incredible would it be to provide completed AV systems to your clients consistently, on time, within budget and with no ser vice calls once the install is 22 Sound & Communications May 2019

complete? Or, in other words, how incredible would it be to turn a profit on ever y project?

The Stor y: “My name is Jim, and I’m a pack rat.”

You know those memes that make fun of 40-year-old folks who have multiple bags of power supplies for equipment that went obsolete years ago? I laugh on the outside, but, on the inside, I’m sobbing. Why? Well…because I have four….

I have a problem; I admit it. But here’s the deal: I’ve got 40-plus years of “stuff” that I should go through, and of which I should purge about 75 percent. I have no idea how to begin. Sometimes, I go in my “work room” in the basement and just stare at the mountains of binders and tools and hardware. Sometimes, I’ll look at my closet, in which at least 40 percent of the clothes haven’t been worn in years (if ever). How to begin?! Naturally—and, incidentally, this is yet another reason why the process hasn’t begun—this reminded me of QMSes for AV companies.

It is incredibly easy to talk about QMSes and become excited for the outcomes.

It’s cool to think about having all the company processes documented and optimized.

The idea of having all your test equipment calibrated ever y year is super geeky and reassuring. Documenting how anyone in the company can recommend improving things makes you want to belong to a team like that. However, creating that type of system is tough. It takes a lot of work, and that’s why there are so few ISO 9000 or AV 9000 registered companies in the AV industr y. Where should you begin? Should you tackle the dreaded ser vice department workflow (notoriously the most complex process in any organization)? Should you take on something more straightfor ward, like the rack-fabrication process? Do you adopt a QMS from some other organization, rather than rolling out your own?

I would suggest starting small and seeing how it fits your organization’s culture.

There is something to be said for just “ripping off the bandage” and starting fresh with a cold QMS rollout, as in, “This is how we do things now.” But, without getting feedback and buy in from your team members, that method is destined to fail.

Here are some easy, inexpensive ways to test the waters.

1. Use Microsoft Teams to start a few channels where people can simply share information and collect data. If your organization has an O365 account, ever y team can have its own wiki that can be used as a reference. Maybe someone from engineer-

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experiences.

2. Create a Google Form sur vey (or another Teams Channel) where people can offer company-wide improvements.

Continual improvement is a key element of any QMS, and it’s ver y important to have a process to capture those improvement ideas, as they arise, to

ing went to a great training, and that person wants to share what he or she learned. Maybe someone in the field wants to share a nightmare experience he or she had with Product X so that other people on the team don’t make the same mistake. Sharing information is critical to providing consistent

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24 Sound & Communications May 2019

make your organization better. Maybe a client became upset about something that could have been avoided. Maybe a form can be tweaked to save a few minutes here and there (adding up to hundreds of hours saved during a year). Having a company-wide, searchable, reviewed repositor y for those ideas will be more impactful than just voicing them at a company meeting.

3. And speaking of company meetings…have them. Make sure the different silos or bubbles in your company all mix. All too often, engineering is upset with sales for not gathering information accurately. Operations is upset with engineering for not including enough information in the drawings. Ser vice is upset with operations for not completing jobs. And sales is upset with ser vice because the clients are upset. Taken together, that equals a ver y upset company. If each group talked productively, checklists would start to form to provide more complete information at those critical handoffs during a project. And as we all know, checklists make the world go ’round.

These are all quick, easy and free nibbles of what a QMS could do for your company. I recommend tr ying them for an entire year and seeing what happens. Most companies have a QMS in place—they just never document it. Documenting processes allows ever yone to understand them and follow them, and it makes it easier to improve them; ultimately, that yields a consistent user experience across the team.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Begin your quality journey with one of these simple steps. If I can look at a few items in my closet and ask myself if they spark joy or if they should be tossed, then you can spend a few minutes a day on Teams to improve your company.

(A helpful hint: Checklists and profits always spark joy.)

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WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Do-It-Yourself AV Systems Then what will we do?

By Douglas Kleeger, CTS-D, DMC-E/S, XTP-E, KCD

T

hanks to ever yone who participated in my “Who Owns The Code?” series of articles from a few months ago. It turned out that—just as I expected—most feel the end user is entitled to get what they’ve paid for and have the flexibility that comes from that.

As regular readers of this column already know, I’ve also started a series about working remotely—a subject near and dear to me. If you have the time, please give the first part a read and let me know if you’d like to contribute your thoughts.

This month, I’m exploring something new. A few weeks ago, I participated in a three-day training from Crestron.

It was a great experience, as usual, but, wow, things have changed! There were two days on the company’s NVX product, with a targeted network training applied to the NVX product on the third day, along with a certification test.

So, what is the “wow” for? Well, all this had little to do with the traditional AV we all know. Ouch!

Sure, by having taken courses like this, I now have the foundation to talk intelligently to an IT department for a project on which such products are being used, but, still, wow! I can only imagine where the AV/IT convergence will eventually end up. The landscape of our industr y is radically changing, and I fear that IT will come to overshadow AV in a big way—that we, as AV professionals, might even be replaced by non-AV (IT) folks.

I saw an old friend of mine, Geoff

26 Sound & Communications May 2019

from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), at that NVX class. We have been in training classes together for 10-some years. Geoff is an embedded audiovisual engineer for the organization. (I say “embedded” because he is a subcontractor, but he’s worked at the CDC full time for many years.)

In the past, I’ve written about some of our industr y’s challenges: for example, how young we are as an industr y and how AV professionals don’t get the respect we deser ve. As I’ve discussed before, no one goes to the doctor, gets an estimate for a $30,000 surger y and then tries to negotiate by saying, “I can get that same surger y for $25,000 from Dr. X down the road.” Doctors are trusted—not only because they are trustworthy, but also because they are licensed by a respected medical board. Doctors who don’t live up to their role can lose their license and be barred from practicing medicine. In our industr y, meanwhile, many end users have been burned over the years.

While employed by an integrator, I spent a good deal of time as the project engineer for many renovations undertaken by the CDC. And, truth be told, I enjoyed working with the CDC’s AV team immensely. The team was serious about training and knowledge, and it was always looking out to make sure the CDC got its money’s worth from its partners. But then something new transpired: the organization started to hire installers to do installations, design its own systems and just buy the equipment from the integrator. Can you imagine that?!

What we do is complicated, and, with technology constantly changing, it’s something of a moving target. It’s often difficult for end users to have a sufficient understanding to know whether a system is “right” for their current and future needs.

For that reason, it isn’t always clear whether users have gotten what they paid for.

I would imagine, then, that, over the years, organizations like the CDC often didn’t get what they paid for! So, now, they and many other corporations and organizations of like size have decided to fend for themselves. This situation is a disaster!

AV professionals are being trivialized and compartmentalized by IT, and, in many cases, large organizations now seem to look at us as an AV grocer y store from (continued on page 110)

AVIXA POV

Setting The Stage, Delivering The Experience Tracking commercial AV’s role in live performances.

By Sean Wargo AVIXA

W

e live in the experience economy—at least so say the soothsayers of trends. In its simplest form, this means consumers are buying into holistic experiences rather than just isolated transactions. Or, rather than just buying the burger, they want not only the fries to go with it, but also the entire meal and ever ything wrapped around it.

(And that includes the social experience of talking about it after ward!)

For an industr y like commercial AV that is based on creating a compelling value proposition, this is money in the bank. Consumers’ willingness to spend up to get a more engaging total experience—whether in a store, at a show or at any other venue—suggests more revenue potential for the business. In theor y, this, in turn, increases improvement-project scopes and budgets as the decision-makers seek to ensure an exceptional experience. Integrators then benefit as these companies turn to the experts so as best to align technology with their needs. The question is, does this happen in reality? According to recent research from AVIXA, the answer is a mixed bag.

AVIXA recently turned its research

28 Sound & Communications May 2019

lens on the live-performance sector, as another volume in its growing series of Market Opportunity Analysis Reports (MOAR). Live performances are one part of the broader live-events market, and they often represent temporar y installations of AV hardware for touring shows across a diverse set of venues. Thus, leasing and support ser vice are common aspects of the AV provider solutions for the space.

Given the experience-related objectives of performances, one might expect show producers to be investing greater amounts in the various components of a show, one of which is AV in all its forms. Audio, lighting, video, staging, environmental effects, audience response, and even virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) can all play a role. Thus, the goal of AVIXA’s research was to determine how performances are faring, business-wise, and what that means for providers that ser ve them. Here’s a bit of what was learned: • For starters, live performance is faring quite well, and the experience economy does appear to be in full effect. Ticket-sales data from Pollstar and others suggest concerts and live theater generate more than $10 billion each year in the US. Furthermore, average ticket prices are rising, with consumers showing increasing willingness to spend more for a show.

• And yet, AVIXA’s forecasts predict that live events as an AV solution area, of which performances are a part, will decline from $10.2 billion in 2018 to $8.6 billion in 2023 in the Americas. What’s going on here is a fundamental shift in the investment for entertainment facilities, with more expected to be spent on more permanent integrated solutions, rather than temporar y ones, by live-events producers. This is further supported by the data from the producers themselves.

• According to the sur veys among the producer community, many of the resources required for technology management and usage exist in-house. Furthermore, their level of investment in owned hardware (as compared to leased hardware) is increasing. The resource issue even crosses into the mid-to-late phases of show production, when AV is installed and operated—places where outsourcing has often occurred.

Unlike traditional production, though, the good news for AV solutions providers is they are more often involved in the upfront scoping of a show’s hardware needs. (continued on page 110)

INDUSTRY POV

Collaborative Learning New technologies open up a new frontier in classrooms and beyond.

By Chris Feldman NEC Display Solutions

L

ong gone are the days when transparency projectors and scientific calculators were the most advanced learning equipment inside the classroom. As technology continues to influence education, and as students become increasingly digitally savvy, educational facilities must look for new ways to enhance collaboration and power the learning experience.

Digital whiteboards, displays and projectors are finding their way to the forefront of how educators structure lessons. However, administrators have much to consider when choosing what is right for a given school or district— and integrators can help direct them to the perfect solution.

Three Segments Of Collaboration Techniques There are three main segments of inclassroom collaboration techniques that schools can use to supplement lessons: interactive whiteboarding, wireless presentation and enhanced team collaboration.

• Interactive whiteboarding is the latest evolution of the traditional chalkboard.

30 Sound & Communications May 2019

It creates dynamic learning environments that can increase participation among today’s digitally inclined students. Teachers can use the technology to save time in the classroom by creating lesson-plan materials, such as graphs, images and tables, ahead of time within the board; then, they can pull the materials to the whiteboard in real time while teaching.

• The ability to share information from any device to a digital display or whiteboard creates a learning experience that is more interactive. With wireless presentation, student device usage within classrooms becomes a learning tool, rather than a distraction; moreover, it allows instructors to engage in and oversee work as it is completed. That helps students better understand ever y component of a given lesson.

• Instructors have incorporated group work into the curriculum for decades. Now, with the ability to collaborate across schools, states or even countries, learning has been further enhanced. For example, a physics class in rural Nebraska can use technology to reap the benefits of having an Ivy League professor facilitate a lesson remotely. It’s like taking online videos and creating real-time, unique experiences to enhance students’ understanding of the material.

Technologies To Enhance Collaboration A plethora of technology offerings can facilitate the above-mentioned collaboration techniques for a school or district. When deciding which technologies to integrate into a classroom, it’s important to identify what solutions work best for the end users.

For example, for a class that spends most of its time outside on nature walks, it might not make sense to incorporate a full suite of microphones and display technologies. In that type of setting, wireless presentation technologies that help facilitate real-time learning and sharing would be much more beneficial, as they would allow students to utilize individual tablets or devices to record their experiences and share them with the class in the moment.

There are solutions for any learning environment. Setting aside cost, the two main (continued on page 110)

© 2 0 1 9 B o s c h S e c u r i t y S y s te m s , I n c .

2019 at NAB SHOW

I P I N T E R C O M T H AT W O R K S F O R Y O U AEROSPACE • AV RENTAL • BROADCAST • CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE • HOUSE OF WORSHIP • SPORTS VENUES • THEATER

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INDUSTRY POV

Leveraging Wi-Fi In The Classroom It can be invaluable for voice amplification and assistive listening.

By Carrie Keele Listen Technologies

T

he next time that parents and educators are inclined to say “put down that phone” to students, they might want to reconsider. Smartphones and mobile devices can distract students and teachers and interfere with learning, but, when they are used judiciously, these ubiquitous devices can be quite helpful for amplification and assistive listening in the classroom.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates nearly 15 percent of US children between the ages of six and 19 have hearing loss of at least 16dB in one or both ears. (To put that in context, the sound that a pin makes when it drops measures 10dB, whereas rustling leaves measure 20dB.) Even mild hearing loss in only one ear can affect academic performance. The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) reports that children who have mild to moderate hearing loss, who do not get help for their hearing loss, might fall one to four grade levels behind their peers.

Classrooms, by their nature, are noisy. Students who have “typical” hearing (no clinical evidence of hearing loss or impairment) might struggle to hear educators and their peers over heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; road noise; the din of computers, projectors and other electronics; and the cacophony generated by people moving about the classroom, turning pages, and rummaging through desks and backpacks. Poor acoustics (think hard surfaces and high ceilings) that enable reverberation, or that ser ve to muffle sounds, also play a role; other factors include accents and the volume at which others speak. Where and how teachers address students matters, too.

32 Sound & Communications May 2019

For instance, a teacher who has his or her back turned to the students as he or she speaks and writes on a smartboard will be more difficult to hear and understand than a teacher who faces his or her students while speaking.

Soundfield systems are designed to help students—regardless of where they are seated in a classroom—hear the teacher. The teacher’s voice is transmitted from a microphone to an amplifier and speakers located in different spots around the classroom. The idea is to disperse sound throughout the space, thereby enabling students in the back and on the sides of the classroom to hear as well as those in the front of the classroom. What’s more, teachers do not have to shout in order to be heard.

Research proves that amplification in the classroom—whether through soundfield systems or other amplifying technologies—enhances classroom management and diminishes discipline problems because the teacher’s voice reaches ever y student in the classroom. In a summar y of studies conducted by the MARRS (Mainstream Amplification Resource Room Study) Project, participating students reported “the amplified voice helps them pay attention, better understand oral directions…and hear the teacher without straining.” In classrooms that feature amplification, students both with and without hearing loss saw statistically significant gains in reading and language achievement test scores.

If a classroom does not have a soundfield system, or if a soundfield system alone is not enough for students who are hard of hearing or struggle with hearing loss, there are assistive-listening technologies that can help. The newest options involve delivering sound directly to each student, creating a personal listening experience.

Assistive-listening systems that are Wi-Fi based leverage the power of the cloud and the prevalence of Wi-Fi (a 2017 study reported at least 88 percent of US schools have classroom access to Wi-Fi) and mobile products like smartphones and tablets to stream audio directly to the devices. Audio over Wi-Fi is an affordable, simple solution that allows students to hear their teacher or other classroom audio clearly.

How It Works Schools install an audio-over-Wi-Fi assistive-listening ser ver on their existing wireless network (they do not have to invest in another separate wireless network),

INDUSTRY POV

and they’re able to stream audio to mobile-device users via a free app.

Students download the app on their iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, and they select the audio channel of their choice (e.g., teacher’s microphone, television audio, public address system).

Then, audio is streamed directly to their devices. Students can listen using headphones or via Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids. In either case, clear sound is delivered directly to students’ ears.

Students are able to control the volume, and they can hear regardless of where they are sitting in a classroom.

Audio over Wi-Fi is helpful for all students, regardless of whether they are hard of hearing. That is because clear sound is amplified and delivered directly to students’ ears, thereby keeping them engaged in learning, more focused, and less affected by the challenges that distance from the audio source, volume and poor classroom acoustics would otherwise pose. Wearing headphones that block out chronic or intermittent ambient noise (e.g., machinery or the sound of a teacher speaking in another classroom) is also helpful to student learning. Mark A. W. Andrews, a professor of physiology at Seton Hall University, explains that this is because “stress resulting from background noise…may

Parameters For Using Mobile Devices In The Classroom u Use headphones, as opposed to ear buds (ear buds are associated with an increase in hearing loss in children). u Keep volumes low (others should not be able to hear the sound from your headphones). u Smartphones and tablets are for assistive listening and amplification only, not for texting or research (unless directed by the teacher as part of a lesson). decrease higher brain function, impairing learning and memory.”

Beyond sound amplification, audio over Wi-Fi can be used for language interpretation in classroom environments in which there are native-speaking and non-native-speaking students (the low latency enables audio in real time, so there is no frustrating delay). The solution is also ideal in mixed learning environments because students are able to plug into different audio channels for a personalized learning experience. For instance, in a classroom that features accelerated and grade-level math lessons, students in one group could be watching an instructive video on a television screen and hearing the corresponding audio through headphones as it is streamed to a smartphone or tablet; meanwhile, the teacher could be

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presenting a different lesson to another group. Both groups of students would be able to hear their respective lessons.

In higher-education environments, audio-over-Wi-Fi solutions are ideal for large lecture halls that feature video screens, digital signage and displays, and/or where distance from the lecturer and background noise could hinder hearing. They also can be useful in student centers and university fitness centers, in which videowalls and multiple TV screens are common. Students in those environments can stream audio from the channel of their choice and hear regardless of where they are in a room and irrespective of surrounding noise.

And, because they’re using headphones, students will not affect others who might be engaged in conversation or listening to other sources of audio nearby.

Audio over Wi-Fi presents an easy, affordable, personalized solution to the challenges of ambient noise, acoustics and distance that, when present in education environments, can make it difficult for students to hear clearly and learn. Schools might want to revisit their cell phone policies and, rather than banning cell-phone use in the classroom, consider leveraging smart devices to provide assistive listening and amplification.

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INDUSTRY POV

Communicating On Campus

Education institutions are poised to move digital signage into the classroom.

By Eric Henry Carousel Digital Signage

I

still remember the days of Charlie Brown-style garbled morning announcements over the PA system in elementar y school. In high school, we progressed to CRT TV announcements, recorded by the video production kids, sent over the coax system to Channel 3 (or was it Channel 4?). We tuned in whenever the teacher actually remembered to turn on the TV at 8:05am sharp. Then we hit the big time in college, with all kinds of cool posters to highlight the events around campus.

Completely filling the stair wells with all those posters must have taken a really long time. It turns out we had a college radio station, too. Who knew?!

Despite all those means of communicating information, I don’t know that I ever retained much of what was communicated by announcements during my school years, apart from the events of the Challenger disaster, the Minnesota Twins winning the World Series and the OJ Simpson trial. I do remember paying particular attention to whatever the teacher wrote on the chalkboard, though.

Maybe that was because my name and a few check marks often appeared there; then again, maybe it was simply because it was right in front of me.

Fast-for warding 20 years, we have 36 Sound & Communications May 2019

email, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, automated phone trees, fancy flatpanel displays, and a growing trend of smartphones and tablets being in our kids’ hands. And despite all those communication methods, my kid somehow still called me up after fighting morning traffic for an hour to tell me he didn’t realize he wasn’t allowed to report to school until 11:15am, due to district testing. (Like father, like son, I guess.)

It turns out, he did have first-period class in the field house—but he hadn’t heard the announcements. He also neglected to open his email. And, he never stopped to read the announcements on the signage displays in the main common area because he was too busy tr ying to get to his next class before the bell. As any good parent would, I concluded that I should probably blame the school.

The reality, though, is that these are truly challenging times for education institutions. We live in a world of constant communication and information availability; and yet, parents and students often feel uninformed, despite the best efforts of educators and administrators. We live in a fast-paced culture in which there are so many things to get done that it can be over whelming. There’s an app for ever ything, which we hope will somehow help us get all the tasks done. This seems especially germane relative to educators, who are embracing all the learning and collaboration platforms introduced in recent years. Perhaps most challenging is that we live in a time when, unfortunately, we are forced to implement new mechanisms just to help keep our kids safe while at school.

By now, you are probably thinking to yourself, “You just got done telling us we have tons of new communication tools and an app for ever ything. So, are you really going to propose adding one more?” Well, yes. I am proposing that bringing digital signage into the classroom, utilizing the right set of tools, can enhance communication without adding stress. Projectors and flatpanel displays have become the modern-day chalkboard. When not being used for instruction, they’re a great way to present information to students in a more powerful and dynamic fashion.

For the past several years, the mission has been to find a way to place digitalsignage content on displays within classrooms. The complexity of deployment and management, along with the hardware cost, has always rendered the idea a nonstarter. It seemed unlikely we would ever see signage in classrooms without further technology convergence.

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INDUSTRY POV

Many institutions began to pursue one-to-one device initiatives earlier this decade, with Apple, Google and Microsoft investing heavily in the education space in hopes of getting their devices in the hands of students.

They developed new tools for deploying and managing thousands of devices at a single institution. They developed screen-sharing technology and new media devices that could play video content for lessons. As a result, countless tablet devices have been placed into the hands of students, along with media-playback devices within classrooms. Devices have become less expensive, and the management tools are quite robust. Throughout the countr y, tremendous investments have been made to enhance the learning experience. And all of that has laid the groundwork to enhance the classroom experience in a different way—a way that helps students feel more connected

38 Sound & Communications May 2019

by utilizing the devices that are already installed in the classroom.

To illustrate the potential, imagine the following fictional depiction of an average school day at Central High School: Mr. Anderson prepares for the day by using his Twitter feed to remind students that there is a test on Friday.

He gets to Room 204 in time for first period and sees his Twitter announcement, along with last night’s football score and the results of the swim meet, displayed on the screen in front of the class. As students begin to gather in Room 204, they check out yesterday’s scores, the weather forecast and, most importantly, what’s on the lunch menu—all displayed on the same screen. Class starts promptly at 7:40am, with the screen automatically streaming the morning announcements from the video-production studio via the room’s dedicated media device. After the morn-

ing announcements, Mr. Anderson starts his lesson by screen sharing from his device to the screen in front of the class.

Mrs. Thompson teaches in Room 204 during second period, and the signage content has already switched to hers in advance of her arrival to the classroom.

Julie arrives to second period a bit early and sees an announcement on the screen in front that reminds her about the school’s canned-food drive; she quickly puts a reminder in her phone.

Sam, following quickly behind, notices Mrs. Thompson’s reminder about the paper that’s due next Tuesday. That reminder, which she posted on her socialmedia feed, displays on the signage screen via an RSS feed. After Sam’s initial dread about the paper being due next Tuesday, he concludes he will do nothing about it.

Fourth period begins with Mr. Anderson in Room 207. The signage in

the front of the class displays the same content that he had onscreen first period in Room 204. Again, without any inter vention. Mr. Anderson starts screen sharing his lesson, just as he does ever y other day. Today, however, his screen-sharing session ends abruptly, and a message appears on the screen to remind ever yone to come to the auditorium for a pep rally. Following shortly after this is a message over the PA system to invite all students and teachers to the auditorium. As students and teachers make their way to the auditorium, they see all the signage displays in the common area also directing them to the auditorium. After the pep rally, the signage displays remind students to report to fifth period. Mr. Anderson starts the period by screen sharing his lesson once again.

Today was a good day. There were no mandator y tornado drills or fire drills. School didn’t close early due to extreme temperatures. There were no suspicious individuals in the building or active threats in the community. If there had been any abnormal events, the administration would have had the ability to alert a single classroom, a floor or the entire campus, in seconds, by delivering a specific message. The alert would have been triggered by a system utilizing the Common Alert Protocol (CAP), the fire-alarm system, the phone system or other integrated systems within the facility. Today, that functionality was used to invite students to the pep rally; in the future, however, Central High will be ready in the event of a drill or an emergency.

K-12 school districts and higher-education institutions around the countr y are beginning to utilize digital signage to enhance the student experience on campus in a big way. Education institutions are now poised to move signage into the classroom to utilize the screen in front of the room when it’s not being used for instruction. Oftentimes, the infrastructure investment has already been made, and the informa-

tion systems are already in place to keep the content on the screens fresh and relevant. Adding the ability to deliver targeted visual alerts to all signage displays on campus further enhances the value of signage in education facilities.

There is a real opportunity for AV integrators to work alongside education institutions to help them establish a

comprehensive strategy for leveraging their infrastructure investment, incorporating their existing content resources and deploying the right digital-signage platform to tie it all together into a cohesive system. If they do this, they won’t overburden IT staff, educators or administrators, but, rather, enhance their ability to communicate on campus.

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May 2019

Sound & Communications 39

INDUSTRY POV

Taming 25V Systems To Excel In The Audio Mix Key insights and actionable advice for the education campus.

By Jim Schwenzer Ashly Audio

S

chools and education facilities of all types—elementar y schools, middle schools, high schools and college campuses—present unique challenges for audio professionals. With many different uses and users spread across a range of different audio types and platforms, audio systems within education environments can grow complicated quickly.

Because of the mix of various audio genres involved with a typical campuswide audio installation, it would be best to enter such a project with experience that includes multi-zone paging, room combining, theatrical production and even large stadium sound reinforcement. That said, at the ver y core of nearly ever y education facility is the multi-zone 25V Constant Voltage Audio (CVA) paging system.

Schools tend to be one of the last bastions for systems based upon 25V CVA. The reason for their prominence in schools is that 25V systems are safe and affordable, as lower-voltage cabling can be pulled through ceilings and walls safely without conduit.

Yet, 25V is notably the least-elegant utilization of CVA that one could imagine. With 25V, systems lose all the benefits afforded to the high-voltage and high-impedance design of 70V and 100V CVAs. With 25V, the effects of wire resistance line loss and intensified frequency-related impedance issues become a real concern. Because of these challenges, there is a direct correlation between the attention to detail one gives the planning and implementation phases of a 25V CVA and the system’s 40 Sound & Communications May 2019

quality of performance and ultimate reliability. Adequate headroom, proper high-pass filtering and clip-limiting accommodations being accounted for in the early stages will pay off later on with a notable decrease in ser vice calls.

What follows are a few best practices and important considerations for working with 25V CVA.

Headroom In the world of CVA, the term “headroom” is a bit misleading. What it really represents is the margin before reaching the point where load impedance drops below the amplifier’s safe operating range. It is a term that’s typically used to gauge the available region left to climb, but it’s now repurposed to indicate how far there is to plummet before arrival at the point of no return.

Because we deal with theoretical impedance in the world of CVA, it is best practice to assume a certain margin of

error in the calculation. Electromagnetic inefficiencies and component tolerances always factor in, and, as such, prudent design would typically include a safety margin of roughly 20 percent.

For example, if the amplifier is rated for 100W, you load it with a speaker load of 80W or fewer.

Frequency Limiting “Theoretical impedance” is frequency dependent. Therefore, it becomes crucial that the audio sent to the transducers is limited to the range of intended operation. The speakers involved with a 25V CVA distributed audio system are not generally intended for full-frequency/high-fidelity audio (20Hz to 20kHz); more likely, they’re intended to reproduce accurately between approximately 80Hz and 14kHz. Outside of that intended operating region, the impedance begins to drop. Any attempt to force the (continued on page 110)

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INDUSTRY POV

Education Revolution

Today’s AV technology offers major benefits for improving education outcomes.

By Brandon Breznick Premier Mounts

C

ommercial AV applications in education facilities across the world are offering students and professors a whole new way of learning and teaching. Interactive displays, smart tools, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and other emerging AV applications are diversifying how education facilities can and do leverage technology.

Advanced Learning & Teaching Methods For today’s students, digital technology is second nature…a fundamental gateway to receiving information.

Teaching techniques have rapidly adapted to suit a new generation whose members have been interacting with technology for the majority of their lives; what’s more, adapting to the digital world means many aspects of teaching must continue to evolve. With today’s technologies, kids can be introduced to digital mediums as early as preschool and kindergarten, with AVinfused instruction continuing throughout their entire education experience.

Exposing educational material through digital mediums can enhance a learner’s ability to understand, and interact with, the information being presented.

42 Sound & Communications May 2019

Inspired Technology Interacting with AI has become as simple as saying, “Hey, Siri (or Alexa, or Google).” In that sense, most individuals have access to AI in the palm of their hand and/or in their home every day. In education settings, the introduction of AI will allow teachers and schools to accomplish far more than was once imagined, even as there remains much room for AI to mature. The goal is to enable teachers and students to leverage AI as a tool that drives efficiency and improved collaboration within the classroom. Many educators have even begun to integrate smart school technology that provides AV capabilities designed for better visualization of ideas when presented on touch-enabled LCD screens. AV capabilities create a sense of collaboration and interaction that students had formerly been lacking.

Budget Considerations In addition to functionality, costs must be considered. Of course, buyers have to consider initial costs, but they should bear in mind that poorly designed products and configurations cost more in the long run, in terms of both variable maintenance and early replacement. When integrating AV into education facilities, the cost of acquiring premium-quality hardware and software should be viewed through the prism of many years of ser vice, rather than being seen as one major, upfront outlay. Any purchase should meet all the needs of the application and, in the process, add value, lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) and promote risk avoidance.

Education budgets always present a challenge. As a vertical market, education facilities are generally budget-sensitive, with funding variations based on region, school and department. AV manufacturers have to acknowledge the uniqueness of this vertical, and they must continue to create advanced solutions that offer these facilities a realistic return on investment (ROI). That being said, the payoff that comes from focusing on a lower TCO is considerable. Utilizing powerful and advanced solutions may come at a price, but it does pay off over time.

Higher Learning To understand why the higher-education community is leading the way in digital (continued on page 112)

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or generations of theatergoers, the 15-minute ride from the train station in Secaucus NJ into New York NY’s Penn Station is the last leg of their journey to the magic of New York’s theater district. For students who aspire to a career in the arts, who are enrolled in the Visual/Tech & Performing Arts program at New Jersey’s new High Tech High School, Secaucus could ver y well be their starting point.

Just a short walk from the Secaucus train station, set on the 20-acre Frank J. Gargiulo Campus, is the new High Tech High School complex, which opened its doors in September 2018. The education complex was designed to set a new standard for vocational education, and Rod Shepard, Head of Music & Audio Technology for Hudson County Schools of Technology (HCST), could not be prouder of the new performance spaces built for the Visual/ Tech & Performing Arts program.

The stages and studios at High Tech High School are fully equipped with the latest audio, video and lighting technology, all digitally tied together with a state-of-the-art network

44 Sound & Communications May 2019

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THE 325-SEAT PROSCENIUM THEATER IS THE VISUAL/TECH & PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM’S MAIN PERFORMANCE VENUE, IN WHICH STUDENTS EXPERIENCE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY PUT TO USE FOR SCHOOL EVENTS, INCLUDING DANCE PERFORMANCES AND FULL-BLOWN MUSICALS WITH PIT ORCHESTRA. May 2019

Sound & Communications 45

GUIDED BY THE SCHOOL’S EXPERIENCED STAFF, FULLY EQUIPPED DIGITAL PRODUCTION LABS PROVIDE WORKSPACES FOR STUDENTS TO EXPLORE AV BASICS ON THEIR OWN, OR TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS ON LARGER PROJECTS.

infrastructure that would rival the technology found in many professional theaters.

Shepard’s enthusiasm for the education space is palpable. “This is a stimulating environment,” he declared. “Exposure to this level of professional technology in a live production environment—well, you just don’t find this in schools. This technology translates directly into future opportunities for our students across many production disciplines. For many of our students, what they learn here could be their future.”

A New Space For Vo-Tech In addition to the Visual/Tech & Performing Arts academy, the 350,000-squarefoot High Tech High School’s winged, modern design provides 70 leading-edge classrooms and specially designed spaces for just fewer than 2,000 students to pursue a practical and top-rated education in the culinar y arts, design and fabrication, and applied and environmental science. As a “magnet” school, High Tech High School draws talented students in grades nine through 12 from across Hudson County school district boundaries. The new space 46 Sound & Communications May 2019

nearly doubles the student capacity of High Tech High School’s former location in North Bergen NJ. Completed a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule, the Hudson County Improvement Authority (HCIA) managed the design and construction process of the complex for HCST, partnering with RSC Architects (Hackensack NJ) and DMR Architects (Hasbrouck Heights NJ) on the design. MAST Construction Ser vices (Little Falls NJ) and Terminal Construction Corp. (Wood-Ridge NJ) handled the construction of the $150 million project.

Past its striking architectural design and its cutting-edge technology, the comprehensive vo-tech complex was designed to meet LEED Gold green-building standards and requirements for sustainability. Environmentally friendly features to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases and wastewater emitted from the campus include water-efficient landscaping, underground parking, geothermal heating, a green roof and wind turbines. A hydroponic rooftop garden provides students with space to grow food to be used in the culinar y kitchen lab.

Shepard, a 20-year veteran instr uctor in Hudson County’s Visual/Tech & Performing Arts program, believes that all the careful planning of the school’s live-per formance spaces and suppor ting technology by the HCIA, as well as the engagement of the New York area’s best production technology integration and design team, was key to the success of the project for his students. “To make our performing and teaching environment the best it could be,” he began, “required careful research into what we do and how we operate, plus complete knowledge of the best production technology available.”

Professional Design & Integration Key performance and production spaces for Visual/Tech & Performing Arts programs are the 325-seat proscenium theater, a 125-seat black box theater, recording and video production studios, a versatile digital production lab and a gymnasium. For cutting-edge technology in each space and the design of a supporting network infrastructure, the building planners engaged exper t system designer and acoustician Dave Kotch, President of Criterion Acous-

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tics (Jersey City NJ and Denver CO). Integration and installation ser vices for the project were expertly handled by Masque Sound (East Rutherford NJ), a leading theatrical sound-reinforcement, installation and design company with many theatrical credits, including Broadway productions of “Aladdin,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “The Book Of Mormon.” Other notable installations include St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Western Connecticut State University PAC and Brooklyn Tech High School.

To assure a design for production systems that would both be commensurate with the professional systems used in commercial performance spaces and meet the requirements for the cutting-edge education facility, Kotch worked closely with the HCIA and the school’s experienced staff during the long design phase of the project. “The long lead time inherent in a school bond process,” Kotch recalled, “allowed us to start planning out systems for this project well over two years ago.”

“Something truly unique about this AV design,” Shepard added, “is that these are professional systems—the type of gear you 48 Sound & Communications May 2019

find in working theaters and studios. But they’re expertly designed into a teaching environment.” As an example, Shepard offered that, unlike in commercial facilities, the school’s control locations and backstage areas have enough space to enable students to gather and observe. “These are teaching spaces with professional gear,” he affirmed. “So, students can easily work at rigging or setting lights, while others observe the equipment and processes that they may, one day, be called upon to do in a work setting.”

It was important to Shepard that the new AV designs included a wide breadth of popular technology. Graduating students will have had experience with full-blown musicals and dance productions, including pit orchestras and complex lighting and stage effects; that being said, students who are just starting out might have little or no production experience. “When students come into the program as freshmen,” Shepard explained, “they may not know what they want to do. They don’t know what an audio engineer does or how a magic sheet helps a lighting designer, and they don’t know

that this can be a vocation. So, it’s important to offer students opportunities to try out as much technology as possible.”

Shepard noted that younger students can initially spend as much as 60 percent of their time at one of the school’s 16 stations in the digital production lab, gaining experience with keyboard controllers, audio mixers, video, digital interfaces and software. “By the time they are juniors, they can be active with our live productions in sound, lighting or recording, using our professional gear to acquire practical working experience,” he confirmed.

Installing An AV Infrastructure All AVL spaces associated with Visual/ Tech & Performing Arts are linked via a combination of fiber, coax, intercom, Cat6 and audio lines. Early design activities allowed wire to be pulled well ahead of system installation. “Designs were in our hands in Januar y 2018,” Matthew Peskie, Installations Department Manager for Masque Sound, recalled. “Our goal was to have systems installed and commissioned over the summer in order to make all systems

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE SCHOOL’S PROSCENIUM THEATER, STUDENTS WHO ARE MORE EXPERIENCED MUST RISE TO THE CHALLENGE OF OPERATING A CONTROL BOOTH EQUIPPED WITH SOME OF THE SAME PRODUCTION TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES USED BY BROADWAY THEATERS.

STUDENTS CAN LEARN ABOUT LIVE RECORDING IN THE SCHOOL’S RECORDING STUDIO, WHICH IS COMPOSED OF A LIVE RECORDING ROOM, ISOLATION BOOTHS AND A CONTROL ROOM WITH A STATE-OFTHE-ART PROFESSIONAL CONSOLE AND CONTROL SURFACE, ALONG WITH A WIDE RANGE OF OUTBOARD SIGNAL-PROCESSING GEAR.

available for the beginning of the school year. Having the building prewired helped us to keep on schedule.”

Peskie reported no major setbacks during the installation. “It was a great team to work with,” he enthused. Peskie coordinated the labor efforts on the all-union jobsite with as many as five workers installing systems and preconfigured, custom panels through the AV spaces, with CTCI Technology (Clifton NJ) providing labor. All systems were installed, and training was completed, prior to the facility’s ribbon-cutting ceremony with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy last November 5.

Peskie guided the team in the installation of a local data network built with Cisco SG300 Series gigabit data switches, over which Dante media-networking technology is presented to all the performing and recording spaces. Masque Sound’s Keith Caggiano, Senior Project Manager, led the configuration and tuning of the network for use with Dante Domain Manager as the overall audio-management tool. Each AV space is built around an audio console and various Dante-enabled I/O devices, along with an Apple Mac mini acting as a Dante controller for audio-signal routing. Dante allows for the sharing of selected audio channels between spaces, while also offering protection between spaces, where required.

50 Sound & Communications May 2019

Kotch’s design for video systems called for deploying Blackmagic Design Smart Videohubs as the primar y video link between spaces. The versatile and reliable hubs allow direct routing of video between spaces, provide convenient converting of video formats and allow audio to be injected onto video streams prior to routing to another space. “Blackmagic Design Smart Videohubs provided the performance to effectively handle today’s video protocols,” Kotch noted, adding that they were “at the right price point for this project.”

All performance spaces at High Tech High School are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant for hearing-impaired individuals, with assistive-listening transmitters and receivers from Listen Technologies. For communications, crews remain in contact across venues via twochannel Clear-Com MS-702 intercom systems installed in each space. APC SmartUPS 1500VA rackmount uninterruptible power supplies from APC by Schneider Electric were specified to protect gear installed in Middle Atlantic racks equipped with Middle Atlantic PDT-2X1020T and Tripp-Lite RS-1215 power strips.

Proscenium Theater The Visual/Tech & Performing Arts program’s central performance space is

the 325-seat proscenium theater, which students and staff affectionately call “The Main Stage.”

For audio reinforcement in the theater, Kotch’s design called for a left/right system of L-Acoustics ARCS Focus speaker arrays, including a center array of L-Acoustics Kiva II speakers. L-Acoustics SB28 subs provide low end, and 5XT front fills were installed to complete coverage at the front of the stage.

According to Peskie, one of the few complications for this installation involved having to open walls to find structural mount points that would provide the correct location for the arrays. Speakers in the theater are driven by L-Acoustics LA4X and LA8 amplifiers, and L-Acoustics X12 speakers are employed as a stage-monitor system.

“In addition to great sound,” Kotch noted, “outstanding design and modeling support from L-Acoustics contributed to finding creative solutions that ensured the project stayed on budget.”

Audio for the theater is processed by a Symetrix Edge Open Architecture Dante digital signal processor unit with Danteenabled xOut analog I/O expanders. A Yamaha CL5 console was installed as the primar y mixer, with 24 channels of Shure ULXD wireless receivers, and with Yamaha Rio3224 and Rio1608 stage boxes for I/O. As designed, the system can operate in a

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A FULLY EQUIPPED VIDEO PRODUCTION STUDIO PROVIDES A PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED CONTROL ROOM WITH GEAR TO ROUTE, SWITCH AND RECORD VIDEO PRODUCTIONS EFFECTIVELY, WHILE ALSO HAVING CAMERA EQUIPMENT THAT INCLUDES THREE PTZ CAMERAS.

skilled or non-skilled operator mode to allow for flexibility based on the user’s experience level. In addition to Shure, Countr yman and Audio-Technica microphone technologies were specified for use onstage.

Video in the theater utilizes a Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub 20x20 as the primar y routing solution for multi-format video sources. Marshall Electronics MLYNX-702W dual seven-inch rackmounted displays allow for signal monitoring in the rack room, as well as stage manager stations. A Panasonic AW-UE70KPKJ 4K PTZ camera is installed near front-of-house to allow for wide stage shots and PTZ control.

Two Panasonic AJ-PX230PJ camcorders are available as video inputs equipped with Magnus VT-4000 tripod systems with fluid heads. All images are projected onto a DaLite 240-inch-diagonal screen by an Epson Pro L25000U laser WUXGA 3LCD projector with 4K enhancement. Video signals for dressing-room distribution are facilitated by a QAM system by Contemporary Research; a Blackmagic Design audio monitor and SmartScope Duo 4K dual 6G-SDI 800x480 52 Sound & Communications May 2019

monitors serve monitoring needs.

Figure 53’s QLab 4 provides students with all-in-one audio, video and lighting control in a software-based console running on an i5 2.6GHz Apple Mac mini with 8GB RAM and a 1TB HDD. “QLab is a popular choice for Broadway theaters,” Kotch noted, “so it’s an important tool for students to experience.”

The control system in the theater is a Crestron CP3N processor, which handles all IP and RS232 device control. A Crestron DM-MD8X8 8x8 DigitalMedia switcher receives signals from DM transmitters and other sources before routing signals to a DM-RMC-SCALER for output to the projector. An installed TSW-1060 touchpanel provides intuitive access to all system controls.

Symetrix Edge DSP and L-Acoustics LA4X amplifiers are among the central components, with a mix of L-Acoustics X8 and X12 loudspeakers and SB15m subs available for the crew to deploy, as needed, to meet the venue’s regularly changing requirements.

A Yamaha CL1 audio console drives the system, with flexible Shure ULXD wireless inputs and a Yamaha Rio3224 stage box specified for I/O. Audio Accessories audio and video patchbays provide for rapid reconfiguration.

Video and control are combined in this smaller venue with a Crestron DMPS presentation-control and signal-routing solution. The system effectively handles the routing of HDMI and DM signals to a Crestron DM-RMC-SCALER for a Panasonic PT-RZ970 10,000-lumen WUXGA projector.

Black Box Theater

Gymnasium

High Tech High School’s 2,000-squarefoot black box theater provides an easily reconfigurable space for performances.

An important intimate venue for drama and dance, Kotch designed a sound system to match the space’s flexibility. A

Eight L-Acoustics ARCS Wide, 12 ARCS Focus and 16 Kiva II array loudspeakers were installed for high intelligibility and complete coverage of the gymnasium. All speakers are driven by L-Acoustics LA4X amplifiers and controlled by a Symetrix

Edge DSP. Speaker configurations are divided for coverage of the bleacher seating areas, the gym floor or both areas simultaneously. A Yamaha CL1 console drives the system, outfitted with Shure ULXD wireless receivers and a Yamaha Rio3224.

This was another space in which Kotch designed a sound system for operation in a skilled or non-skilled operator mode to accommodate the operator’s experience and confidence level.

A theater system provides video for event attendees, with a Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub 20x20 utilized as a primar y routing solution. All images are projected onto a Da-Lite 21'x35' projection screen by an Epson Pro L1755UNL laser WUXGA 3LCD projector with 4K enhancement. Audio Accessories patchbays facilitate connectivity for audio and video.

A Crestron CP3N processor provides the gym’s control system, which handles all IP and RS232 device-control traffic. A DMMD8x8 switcher processes signals from DM transmitters and other sources, and then routes them to a DM-RMC-SCALER for output to the projector. System control is convenient via a Crestron TSW-1060 touchpanel.

Video Production Studio A Blackmagic Design Smar t Videohub 40x40 routes multi-format video sources in the school’s video production studio. Two Marshall M-LYNX-7002W rackmounted displays allow for signal monitoring at the rack location, whereas two KMonitor displays are used in the control room. The school’s existing TriCaster switcher system was installed to provide production switching, allowing three PTZOptics PTZ cameras, with controllers, to be utilized in a singleoperator situation.

Peskie’s installation team installed an Apple Mac Pro with a 3GHz eight-core Xeon E5 processor, dual GPUs, 64GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD for recording, along with an easily portable Ikan PT-ELITE-PRO Universal large-tablet teleprompter with 32GB Apple iPad with 9.7-inch display. With that, talent in video productions can enjoy professional prompting.

The audio installation in the studio is based on the common Yamaha CL1 console and Rio3224 I/O box, along with Shure ULXD wireless technology. Dyn-

audio BM15A active monitors are used for control-room monitoring.

Digital Production Lab Spaces The digital production lab spaces provide students with an independent opportunity to use professional gear, including a Mackie PROFX16v2 audio mixer that offers 16 channels, four buses and onboard effects, with playback through Dynaudio BM15A active monitors. Focusrite RedNet AM2 monitoring stations are used for pulling digital audio signals from the Dante audio system.

A Blackmagic Design ATEM Production Studio and ATEM 1 M/E broadcast panel are at the heart of the video-production system in these spaces, along with an expanded Apple Mac Pro with a 3.5GHz six-core Xeon E5 processor and dual GPUs running Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio Pro 2. The system allows for recording ver y high-quality uncompressed or compressed ProRes and DNxHD video formats to fast 2.5-inch SSDs. Sony, JVC and PTZOptics cameras and controllers are also available to young engineers and budding producers who are exploring these spaces.

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EQUIPMENT BLACK BOX THEATER Speakers 2 L-Acoustics SB15m high-power compact subwoofers, 1 x 15" 4 L-Acoustics X8 2-way passive coaxial enclosures, 8" LF + 1.5" HF

diaphragm 4 L-Acoustics X12 2-way passive coaxial enclosures, 12" LF + 3" HF

diaphragm DSP & Remotes 2 Symetrix 80-0062 analog inputs, 4-channel 1 Symetrix 80-0068 AES output, 4-channel 1 Symetrix 80-0063 analog output, 4-channel 1 Symetrix Edge DSP frame w/4 I/O expander card slots, 64x64 Dante Amplifiers 2 L-Acoustics LA4X US amplified controllers w/PFC 4x1000W/8Ω

Ethernet network, AES/EBU Console 1 Yamaha CL1 digital audio mixing console w/48 mono, 8 stereo,

24 mix outputs 1 Yamaha Rio3224-D w/32 inputs, 16 outputs, 4 AES/EBU outputs Network Switches 1 Cisco SG300-10PP 10-port gigabit managed switch 1 Cisco SG300-28PP 28-port gigabit PoE managed switch Wireless Mics 2 Shure UA864US wireless microphone wall-mounted antennas 2 Shure ULXD1 wireless bodypack transmitters, TA4F-G5 2 Shure ULXD2/B58 handheld wireless microphones, G5 1 Shure ULXD4Q quad-channel digital wireless receiver, G5 2 Shure WCB6B Countryman B6, micro-lavalier microphones, TA4F,

varying colors Computer 1 Apple Mac Mini i5 2.6GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD 1 Dante Virtual Sound Card Video System 2 Crestron DM-TX-4K-100-C-1G-B-T wall-plate 4K DigitalMedia 8G+

transmitters, black 1 Crestron DMPS3-4K-150-C 3-Series 4K DigitalMedia presentation system 1 Panasonic PT-RZ970 10,000-lumen WUXGA (1920x1200) projector,

black Intercom (used throughout) 2 Clear-Com CC-300-X4 single-muff headsets 2 Clear-Com CC-400-X4 double-muff headsets 1 Clear-Com KB-702 2-channel flush-mount wall station 1 Clear-Com MS-702 2-channel master station 6 Clear-Com RS-702 2-channel listen belt packs Assisted Listening (used throughout) 1 Listen Technologies LA-123 90° helical antenna, 72MHz 1 Listen Technologies LA-321 8-unit portable RF charging/carrying case 6 Listen Technologies LA-401 universal ear speakers 6 Listen Technologies LR-4200-072 intelligent DSP RF receivers

w/rechargeable battery 1 Listen Technologies LT-800-072-01 72MHz stationary RF transmitter Power Protection (used throughout) 1 APC SMT1500RM2U Smart-UPS 1500VA 2U rackmount w/LCD

(120V) Middle Atlantic PDT-2X1020T power strip Tripp-Lite RS-1215 8-way Edison rackmount power strip Patchbays (used throughout) 1 Audio Accessories 2x26x2RU 75Ω HD-SDI video patchbay 4 Audio Accessories WEP-262EO-SH-JSK 1/4" long-frame audio

patchbays, 2x26x2RU 1 Belden AX103115 48-port Cat6 KeyConnect patch panel, 2RU

54 Sound & Communications May 2019

1 Black Box JPM385A 24-port fiber patchbay Equipment Rack (used throughout) 1 Middle Atlantic MRK-4431 44RU gangable rack, black GYMNASIUM Speakers 12 L-Acoustics ARCS Focus passive 2-way loudspeaker enclosures 8 L-Acoustics ARCS Wide passive 2-way loudspeaker enclosures 16 L-Acoustics KIVA II passive 2-way WST enclosures Audio Monitors 4 L-Acoustics 108P self-powered, compact coaxial active 2-way

live-monitoring enclosures DSP & Remotes 1 Symetrix 80-0062 analog input, 4-channel 2 Symetrix 80-0068 AES outputs, 4-channel 1 Symetrix 80-0063 analog output, 4-channel 1 Symetrix Edge DSP frame w/4 I/O expander card slots, 64x64 Dante Amplifiers 2 L-Acoustics LA4X US amplified controllers w/PFC 4x1000W/8Ω Ethernet

network, AES/EBU 1 L-Acoustics LA8 loudspeaker amplification, DSP, network Console 1 Yamaha CL1 digital audio mixing console w/48 mono, 8 stereo,

24 mix outputs 1 Yamaha Rio3224-D w/32 inputs, 16 outputs, 4 AES/EBU outputs Network Switches 1 Cisco SG300-10PP 10-port gigabit managed switch 1 Cisco SG300-28PP 28-port gigabit PoE managed switch Wireless Mics 2 Shure UA864US wireless microphone wall-mounted antennas 2 Shure ULXD1 wireless bodypack transmitters, G5 2 Shure ULXD2/B58 handheld wireless microphones, G5 1 Shure ULXD4Q quad-channel digital wireless receiver, G5 2 Shure WCB6B Countryman B6 micro-lavalier microphones, TA4F,

varying colors Video System 2 Blackmagic Design Optical Fiber 4K HD/SDI-to-fiber converters 1 Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub 20x20 Ultra HD mixed-format router 1 Crestron DM-MD8x8 DigitalMedia switcher 2 Crestron DM-NVX-350 DigitalMedia 4K60 4:4:4 HDR network AV

encoder/decoders 1 Crestron DM-PSU-8 8-port PoDM PSU for DigitalMedia 8G+ I/O cards 5 Crestron DM-TX-4K-100-C-1G-B-T wall-plate 4K DigitalMedia 8G+

transmitters 5 Crestron DMC-4K-C-HDCP2 DigitalMedia 8G+ input cards 1 Crestron DMC-4K-CO-HD-HDCP2 DigitalMedia HDMI 4K output card 2 Crestron DMC-4K-SDI 3G-SDI input cards for DigitalMedia switchers 2 Crestron SFP-1G-SX SFP transceiver modules for DM-NVX Series,

duplex multimode fiber, 850nm 1 Da-Lite Arena Electrol screen (20823), 469" diagonal (230"x408") 1 Epson Pro L1755UNL WUXGA 3LCD laser projector with 4K enhancement Presentation System 1 Crestron CP3N compact, rack-mountable 3-Series control processor 1 Crestron TSW-1060-B-S 10.1" touchscreen wall panel, black PROSCENIUM THEATER Speakers 4 L-Acoustics 5XT passive 2-way ultra-compact coaxial enclosures 6 L-Acoustics Arcs Focus passive 2-way loudspeaker enclosures, L/R arrays 6 L-Acoustics KIVA II passive 2-way WST enclosures 2 L-Acoustics SB28 18" direct-radiating LF transducers, integrated into

a bass-reflex-tuned subwoofer enclosure Audio Monitors 1 Blackmagic Design audio monitor from SDI, AES/EBU and analog

audio sources

(equipment list continued on page 56)

Recording Studio

AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE SCHOOL’S PHYSICAL DESIGN THAT CARRIED OVER INTO AV AREAS IS THAT EXTRA SPACE IS PROVIDED AROUND GEAR SO THAT STAFF CAN PROVIDE MEANINGFUL DEMONSTRATIONS AND STUDENTS CAN CLEARLY SEE HOW GEAR INTERFACES.

The program’s popular recording studio is composed of a live-recording room and isolation booths built from two Wenger prefabricated practice rooms. The space is built around the industr y-recognized Solid State Logic (SSL) AWS948 24-channel/48input/eight-bus analog mixing console and the company’s control surface with 24 motorized faders. Multiple Focusrite HD32R, A16R and A8R conver ters are used for converting the console I/O to and from the Dante audio protocol for recording and mixing in ProTools HDX, running on an Apple Mac Pro. That component has a 3GHz eight-core Xeon E5 processor, dual GPUs, 64GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. A Genelec 8330A 5.1 speaker system, along ATC SCM50ASL Pro nine-inch, three-way powered monitors, is used for control-room monitoring. A Mackie HR624mk2 6.7-inch, two-way active studio monitor was specified as a talkback monitor.

To supplement training by Masque Sound staff on all the new systems, Peskie arranged two days of training for students and staff specifically on the SSL console and control surface. “The SSL engineers know the equipment the best,” he remarked, “and they’re happy to tailor training to meet the specific needs of our clients.”

In addition to a mixing console that would meet or exceed current industry standards, Shepard requested that the studio have sufficient analog outboard gear available via patchbay—a layout similar to his old setup.

“Students need to learn what is industr y (main story continued on page 58)

(equipment list continued from page 54) 2 Dynaudio BM15A 2-way active booth audio monitors 6 L-Acoustics X12 passive 2-way coaxial enclosures, 12" LF + 3"

HF diaphragm DSP & Remotes 4 Symetrix 80-0062 analog inputs, 4-channel 3 Symetrix 80-0068 AES outputs, 4-channel 1 Symetrix 80-0063 analog output, 4-channel 2 Symetrix Edge DSP frames w/4 I/O expander card slots, 64x64 Dante 2 Symetrix xOut 12 12-channel analog output expanders Amplifiers 4 L-Acoustics LA4X US amplified controllers w/PFC 4x1000W/8Ί

Ethernet network, AES/EBU 1 L-Acoustics LA8 loudspeaker amplification, DSP, network Console 1 Yamaha CL5 digital audio mixing console w/72 mono, 8 stereo,

24 mix outputs 1 Yamaha RIO1608-D w/16 inputs, 8 outputs 1 Yamaha RIO3224-D w/32 inputs, 16 outputs, 4 AES/EBU outputs Network Switches 2 Cisco SG300-28PP 28-port gigabit PoE managed switches Wireless Mics 8 Audio-Technica Pro 45 cardioid hanging condenser microphones, black,

25' cable, AT8146 windscreen, AT8451 steel hanger 1 Shure MX418/C Podium Microphone, 18" Gooseneck Mic 1 Shure UA844+V antenna distribution system, wideband UHF, 470-952MHz 2 Shure UA874US directional antennas, 902-960MHz 6 Shure ULXD4Q quad-channel digital wireless receivers, v5 20 Shure ULXD1 wireless bodypack transmitters, TA4F, v5 4 Shure ULXD2/B58 handheld wireless microphones, v5 20 Shure WCB6B Countryman B6 micro-lavalier microphone, TA4F,

varying colors Computer 1 Apple Mac Mini i5 2.6GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD 1 Figure 53 Qlab software 1 Dante Virtual Sound Card Video System 1 Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub 20x20 Ultra HD mixed-format

video router 1 Contemporary Research QDA4-45 QAM amplifier 1 Contemporary Research QMOD-SDI 2 HDTV encoder for QAM

delivery, modulator and IPTV encoder 2 Crestron DM-TX-4K-100-C-1G-B-T wall-plate 4K DigitalMedia 8G+

transmitters 1 Crestron DM-MD8x8 DigitalMedia switcher 2 Crestron DM-NVX-350 DigitalMedia 4K60 4:4:4 HDR network AV

encoder/decoders 1 Crestron DM-PSU-8 8-port PoDM PSU for DM 8G+ I/O cards 2 Crestron DMC-4K-C-HDCP2 DigitalMedia 8G+ input cards 2 Crestron DMC-4K-SDI 3G-SDI input cards for DM switchers 1 Crestron DMCF-4K-CO-HD-HDCP2 DigitalMedia 4K transmitter card 2 Crestron SFP-1G-SX SFP transceiver modules for DM-NVX Series,

duplex multimode fiber, 850nm 1 Da-Lite 99288L Large Cosmopolitan Electrol screen, 240"

diagonal, 144"x192" 1 Epson Pro L25000U WUXGA 3LCD laser projector 2 Marshall Electronics M-LYNX-702W Dual 7" 3G-SDI rackmount monitors

w/loopthrough HDMI input/output 5 Samsung PM43H 43" LED monitors Cameras 2 Panasonic AJ-PX230PJ camcorders 1 Panasonic AW-UE70KPJ PTZ camera 2 Magnus VT-4000 tripod systems

w/fluid head

56 Sound & Communications May 2019

Presentation System 1 Crestron CP3N compact, rack-mountable 3-Series control processor 1 Crestron TSW-1060-B-S 10.1" touchscreen wall panel SM Rack 1 Blackmagic Design Audio Monitor from SDI, AES/EBU and analog

audio sources 1 Blackmagic Design SmartScope Duo 4K rack-mounted dual 6G-SDI

monitors, Display, 3G w/loopthrough 6G, 800x480 1 Circle Three Designs SM Rack, 14RU RECORDING STUDIO Active Monitors 1 ATC SCM50ASL PRO 9" 3-way Powered Studio Monitors (pair) 1 Genelec 7350A IP 8" Smart Active Monitor subwoofer 5 Genelec 8330A IP 5" Smart Active Monitors 1 Genelec 9310A volume controller 2 Mackie HR624mk2 6.7" 2-way active studio monitor Headphone Monitoring 8 Focusrite Rednet AM2 DSP & Remotes 1 Lab Gruppen Lake LM-26, 2 inputs, 6 outputs Console 1 Solid State Logic SSL AWS948 24-channel, 48-input, 8-bus analog

mixing console Outboard Equipment 1 API 500-VPR 10RU rack w/PSU 2 API 512v mic preamps 2 API 550b 4-band EQs 2 API 560b 10-band graphic EQs 2 AMS Neve 2264LB limiter/compressors 1 Antelope Trinity master clock 1 Avalon 737SP channel strip 1 Bricasti System 1/M7 reverb processor w/remote 1 Dramastic Audio Obsidian 500 stereo bus compressor 2 Empirical Labs EL8X distressors 1 Eventide Eclipse multi-effects processor 1 Motu Midi Express 128 8x9 USB midi interface 1 Neve DPX 1073 mic/line preamp & EQ 1 Opto Compressor Tubetech CL1B compressor 1 Universal Audio 1176LN limiting amplifier 1 Universal Audio LA-2A leveling amplifier Network Switches 2 Cisco SG300-28PP 28-port gigabit PoE managed switches Computer 1 Apple Mac Pro, 8-core Xeon E5 processor, dual GPU, 3.0GHz, 16GB,

64GB RAM, 256GB SSD 1 Avid ProTools HDX software, card and ILok 3 Focusrite A8R analog I/Os 3 Focusrite A16R analog I/Os 2 Focusrite HD32R Dante bridge interface 1 Focusrite PCIeR Digilink card 1 Focusrite PCIeR expansion card 1 Sonnet xMac Pro Server PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt 2 expansion system Video System 1 Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub 20x20 Ultra HD mixed-format

video router 1 Crestron DM-MD8x8 DigitalMedia switcher 2 Crestron DM-TX-4K-100-C-1G-B-T wall-plate 4K DigitalMedia 8G+

transmitters 2 Crestron DMC-4K-C-HDCP2 DigitalMedia 8G+ input card 2 Crestron DMC-4K-SDI 3G-SDI input card for DM switchers 1 Crestron DM-PSU-8 8-port PoDM PSU for DM 8G+ I/O cards 2 Crestron DM-RMC-4K-100-C DigitalMedia 8G+ receiver input card 2 Crestron DM-RMC-Scaler-C DigitalMedia 8G+ receiver & room

controllers w/scaler

2 Samsung PM43H 43" LED monitors Cameras 1 Panasonic AW-UE70KPJ network camera, black Presentation System 1 Crestron CP3N 3-Series compact, rack-mountable control processor 1 Crestron TSW-1060 10.1" touchscreen wall panel Additional Patchbays 4 Neutrik NPPA-TT-SD25 1/4" long-frame 2x48 TT Bantam audio patchbays Loose Equipment 5 Sound Anchor ADJ1 stands for Genelec surrounds, 56" 1 Sound Anchor ADMID stands for ATC monitors (pair) Equipment Racks 2 Forecast Consoles Bi-Level Slope Sidecars for freestanding

audio mixer, 10RU VIDEO PRODUCTION STUDIO Audio Monitors 1 Blackmagic Design Audio Monitor from SDI, AES/EBU and analog

audio sources 2 Dynaudio BM15A powered bi-amped near-field monitors w/200W

10" woofer, 100W 1.1" silk dome tweeter Console 1 Yamaha CL1 digital audio mixing console w/48 mono, 8 stereo,

24 mix outputs 1 Yamaha RIO3224-D w/32 inputs, 16 outputs, 4 AES/EBU outputs Network Switches 2 Cisco SG300-48PP 48-port gigabit PoE managed switches Wireless Mics 1 Shure UA844+SWB antenna distribution system, wideband UHF,

470-952MHz 6 Shure ULXD1 wireless bodypack transmitters, TA4F, G5 2 Shure ULXD2/B58 handheld wireless microphones, G5 2 Shure ULXD4Q quad-channel digital wireless receivers, G5 2 Shure US864US directional antennas, 902-960MHz 6 Shure WCB6B Countryman B6 micro-lavalier microphone, TA4F, varying colors Computer 1 Apple Mac Pro, 8-core Xeon E5 processor, dual GPU, 3.0GHz,

16GB, 64GB RAM, 256GB SSD 2 Asus VG245H 24" monitors 1 Sonnet xMac Pro Server PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt 2 expansion system Video System 3 Apple iPads, 9.7", 32GB, space gray 8 Blackmagic Design Optical Fiber receivers 1 Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub 40x40 Ultra HD video routers

NUMEROUS PATCHBAYS, ALONG WITH A SPACIOUS EQUIPMENT AREA, PROVIDE FOR EASY RECONFIGURATION OF THE SCHOOL’S MULTI-PURPOSE GYMNASIUM AV SYSTEMS.

3 ikan PT-ELITE-PRO universal large tablet teleprompters 3 Kmonitor KM-5560W 55" LED monitors 2 Marshall Electronics M-LYNX-7002W dual 7" 3G-SDI rackmount monitors

w/loopthrough HDMI input/output Equipment Racks 2 Middle Atlantic WR-44-32 44RU gangable racks, black DIGITAL PRODUCTION LAB SPACES Audio Monitors 2 Dynaudio BM15A powered bi-amped near-field monitors w/200W 10" woofer,

100W 1.1" silk dome tweeter

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Headphone Monitoring 1 Atterotech unDIO2x2 Dante interface 6 Focusrite Rednet AM2 Console 1 Mackie ProFX16v2 16-channel, 4-bus mixer w/built-in effects and USB Network Switches 2 Cisco SG300-10PP 10-port gigabit managed switches Video System 1 Apple Mac Pro, 6-core Xeon E5 processor, dual GPU, 3.5GHz, 16GB, 6GB RAM, 256GB SSD 1 Blackmagic Design ATEM 1 M/E broadcast panel switching control 1 Blackmagic Design ATEM Production Studio 4K multi-camera production switcher, 8 Ultra HD

inputs 1 Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck Studio Pro 2 video recording, includes SSD drive 2 Samsung DM55E 55" LED monitors for digital signage 1 Sonnet xMac Pro Server PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt 2 expansion system Cameras 1 JVC GY-LS300CHU Ultra camcorder 3 PTZ Optics PT20X-SDI-GY-G2 PTZ cameras, 20x optics, 3G-SDI, HDMI, IP, 1920x1080 1 PTZ Optics RM-IP10 PTZ optics controller 1 Ronkinon 24mm T1.5 Cine lenses Equipment Rack 1 Middle Atlantic PTRK 2126 21RU gangable rack, black Equipment list edited from information supplied by Masque Sound.

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(main story continued from page 55) standard,” he stressed. “Even with all the ‘inthe-box’ recordings being produced, major studios still use analog patching, so students need to learn how to patch in an API preamp or a Neve compressor.” Accordingly, Kotch’s design for the studio provided student engineers with a broad selection of popular outboard gear in use at many commercial studios. In addition to adding API and Neve devices to the school’s existing outboard gear, new devices include electronics from Empirical Labs, Bricasti Design and Universal Audio.

As in other spaces, video in the recording studio centers on a Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub 20x20 as the primary router. A Panasonic AW-UE70KPJ compact 4K PTZ network camera allows for multiple camera shots of the studio to aid in recording; meanwhile, two Samsung PM43H 43inch commercial LED displays are used as video monitors.

At the center of the studio’s control system is a Crestron CP3N processor, which handles all IP and RS232 device control.

Similar to the other spaces, DM-MD8x8 switchers receive signals from DM transmitters and other sources to be routed to DM-RMC-SCALERs to output for monitor and display. All system control is handled via a Crestron TSW-1060 touchpanel.

With a solid network infrastructure, Dante-enabled devices and intercom links between the other AV spaces to allow for a clear, simple method of communication, budding engineers can collaborate across spaces. The only limits are those imposed by their experience and their creativity.

Next Stop For Students After nearly 20 years of teaching high schoolers about technology for the arts, Shepard has a growing list of former students who work with integrators as traveling sound engineers on the crews of Broadway shows, as well as for Jazz at Lincoln Center and in a wide variety of other arts-related jobs. “The learning never stops,” he declared. “Next, we want to offer a stage and theater technology major.”

In making the best production technology and vocational training available at New Jersey’s High Tech High School, the sky’s the limit for Shepard’s creative and talented students. With the experience they gain here, careers on the professional stages of New York are just a short train ride away.

infocomm booth# 6381

MT. SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE STAFF AND AV INTEGRATOR CREATE

C O L L A B O R AT I V E

E D U C AT I O N

Mt. San Antonio College, established in 1945 on what was then 420 rolling acres of pasture in Walnut CA, located on the eastern edge of the Greater Los Angeles Area and 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

60 Sound & Communications May 2019

CAMPUS OF THE FUTURE.

ENVIRONMENT

BY DAN DALEY From government-backed mortgages to guaranteed healthcare and low-interest tuition loans, a lot of socially beneficial things came out of the post-World War II GI Bill. Another one of those was Mt. San Antonio College, established in 1945 on what was then 420 rolling acres of pasture in Walnut CA, located on the eastern edge of the Greater Los Angeles Area and 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Named for Mt. San Antonio, the snow-capped mountain (popularly known as Mt. Baldy) prominently visible in the distance above its campus, Mt. San Antonio College has evolved into a school that emphasizes, among other things, technology-focused and technology-driven education and training for the tens of thousands of students pursuing degrees and certificates.

That is amply illustrated in the recently completed AV integration in three new buildings on the college’s sprawling campus, part of its Business & Computer Technology (BCT) initiative. Forty-eight new classrooms address some of the school’s most advanced and esoteric education and training programs, including fashion and design, as well as culinar y arts. In the process, according to Chris Rodriguez, Manager of Mt. San Antonio College’s Presentation Ser vices department, the school has created the template for the rest of the campus. Techniques, technologies and lessons learned from this new initiative will ultimately be applied to upgrading the college’s existing infrastructure and making future campus expansions.

“The BCT project was our opportunity to create the classrooms we’d need going into the future, and [the college’s] management was fully onboard with it,” Rodriguez affirmed. So, too, was the school’s technology team, some members of which boast advanced certifications from AVIXA. Just as importantly, Rodriguez pointed

May 2019

Sound & Communications 61

Three new buildings on Mt. San Antonio College’s sprawling campus house its Business & Computer Technology (BCT) initiative, where 48 new classrooms address some of the school’s most advanced and esoteric education and training programs, including fashion and design, as well as culinary arts.

out, his department is heavily AV oriented and the school’s IT department falls under its aegis; that dynamic places the technology emphasis on AV systems, as opposed to the networks on which they might run.

And that’s a significant distinction. “We belong to a division where performing arts center staff, broadcast ser vices staff and event ser vices also reside, so our collective knowledge of AV comes from production—not just purely technology,” Rodriguez, who began his career in audio and who has a degree in electrical engineering, explained. “As a result, we’re treating each classroom design like an event production.

That impacts the audio and video by putting an emphasis on quality, as well as technology.”

This arrangement has also created a collaborative environment for AV and IT staffers at Mt. San Antonio College. “First, we design the AV to achieve the goals we set for it, such as quality of sound and picture,” Rodriguez stated. “Then, we can come to IT with a fully developed idea and ask them how better to implement it.” He added, “That’s especially made the distribution side of the project a big success.”

Rodriguez cited as an example how the IT staff helped integrate Extron’s GlobalViewer Enterprise software into the new classrooms’ room-control infrastructure, which manages each room’s video systems and connects them to a central ser ver in the campus’ data center. (Audio is networked using QSC’s Q-SYS platform. Because each classroom’s audio is managed locally, the Q-SYS network can monitor audio system 62 Sound & Communications May 2019

performance and alert staff to any problems.) According to Rodriguez, with those two monitoring systems, “We can usually address a technical issue even before a teacher or instructor realizes there’s a problem.”

Specific Solutions As a result of the high level of interaction between key tech staffers at the school, as well as the deep AV/IT knowledge base they boast, the AV integrator for the new classrooms was able to hit the ground running after it won the district’s bidding for the project. That integrator is Centerpoint Communications, based in Placentia CA, about 10 miles down Orange Fwy. from Mt. San Antonio College. Even Jason Bay-

A tiered lecture hall, able to hold 80 students, uses a unique video configuration due to sightline challenges in the stepped space. Four projectors are ceiling mounted and illuminate four recessed screens. Two 159-inch-diagonal screens face the front of the room, where ceiling height is greatest.

Two 84-inch-diagonal screens act as rear confidence monitors for the instructor.

orgeon, Project Engineer for Centerpoint Communications, was impressed by the scope and scale of Mt. San Antonio College’s vision. “It’s a ver y large complex of buildings and classrooms, and some of the classrooms are ver y specific and innovative, requiring some unique AV solutions,” he offered.

Fortunately, Centerpoint Communications has done AV systems work for the college for the last decade, and it was able to provide some input to the BCT project as it evolved over the past five years. “We

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The kitchen classroom features an array of cameras and displays, including four PTZ cameras mounted above a grilling station, a baking station, the ovens and a food-prep station in the kitchen. They are remotely controlled and switched from the instructor’s touchpanel controller.

were the low-voltage subcontractor on the construction of the buildings, and we were there as the classroom designs changed over time,” Bayorgeon said. That perspective helped, especially when it came to installing AV components. “A lot can change about the technology in that amount of time,” he explained, “so we were able to assist in keeping the design elements more up to date as it went along.”

To be sure, there was a lot to keep up with! Rodriguez noted that the school’s technical teams developed 120 pages of schematics and other diagrams of the systems, based on a pilot room mocked up to test proofs of concepts. This provided what would ultimately become a blueprint for this project and Mt. San Antonio College’s future.

Something’s Cookin’ Most of the new classrooms are fairly conventional, offering a single projector and a few ceiling speakers. (They all, however, share a rather advanced lectern design. We’ll discuss that shortly.) But three rooms, in particular, represent the spirit of the BCT initiative, as well as the school’s emphasis on practical curricula. The kitchen here isn’t the one in the school cafeteria; rather, it’s meant to portray industrial or commercial kitchens in environments that range from high-end restaurants to institutional settings. Students learn not only the agenda of the school’s culinar y-arts pro64 Sound & Communications May 2019

An assortment of control panels—for AV systems, emergency action and notification systems, and ADA compliance—reflect the college’s emphasis on technology solutions.

gram, but also the often-overlooked art of getting the gastronomic delights gracefully to the table in an attached dining room that wouldn’t be out of place in New York NY’s Upper East Side. And they learn it all via an array of cameras and displays.

Four Panasonic AW-HE40SWPJ PTZ cameras are mounted above a grilling station, a baking station, the ovens and a food-prep station in the kitchen. Those are remotely controlled and switched (via an Extron 32x32 XTP matrix switcher) from the instructor’s Extron TLP Pro 1220TG 12-inch tabletop touchpanel. The activities they capture are displayed on eight Sharp 42-inch monitors placed around the kitchen, allowing students to observe those activities from almost any position in those areas.

The displays are enclosed in stainless-steel encasements hung from the ceiling to prevent damage from the smoke and grease endemic to kitchens.

The dining area also has an Epson

5,500-lumen laser projector and a Da-Lite screen (that can display content from any of the four cameras); meanwhile, a Shure MXW Series wireless system provides two handheld and two lavalier microphones.

There is some minor acoustical treatment in place to offset the reflections of sound off the kitchen’s tiled and stainless-steel surfaces.

“The large number of displays was necessary because typical kitchen elements, such as exhaust fans, can interfere with the sightlines,” Bayorgeon explained. “This way, students can look at what’s taking place from anywhere, rather than having 20 of them crowding around and [looking] over the instructor’s shoulder. And instructors can choose cameras using the switching we programmed into the control system, and [they can] move the cameras manually through the touchscreen, too.” Rodriguez added that the video in the kitchen classroom can easily be switched so that each side of the suite

of spaces can see what’s taking place on the other.

“Students are able to observe the entire process of food handling and delivery through the video system,” he affirmed. “They’re not isolated in one area or the other at any time.”

Another split space, designed to educate those who will be paralegals, is set up like a jury deliberation room. Cameras bring the debate and discussion over to students who are watching on video in an adjacent conventional classroom. The fashion and sewing classroom uses many of the same AV components to follow garments from design through to execution, with PTZ cameras able to focus on sewing machines, mannequins and models. “Basically, the cameras are acting like document cameras, putting the details of what’s taking place on screens to make them easier to see and understand,” Rodriguez said.

Each building also has a core of three or four conference rooms with the Zoom teleconferencing soft codec integrated through QSC’s Q-SYS platform.

These rooms are also fitted with Extron’s MediaPort 200, allowing users to connect their laptops and mobile devices and convert HDMI to USB.

Getting Lectured Another technologically interesting space is a tiered lecture hall that is able to hold 80 students, and which uses a unique video configuration due to (main story continued on page 68)

Projection is an integral part of learning at Mt. San Antonio College, ensuring that students get a full multimedia experience in addition to in-person lectures and instruction.

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EQUIPMENT

(one building, as representative of the broader campus)

2 Extron IP Link Pro control processor LL UI upgrades

1 Da-Lite IDEA screen – (16:10) 100" diagonal w/24" marker tray

2 Extron IPCP Pro 250 IP Link Pro control processors

6 Da-Lite IDEA screens – (16:10) 87" diagonal w/24" marker trays

25 Extron IPCP Pro 350 IP Link Pro control processors

8 Elmo P30HD visual presenters

13 Extron IPL Pro S3 IP Link Pro control processors

9 Epson BrightLink 697Ui wireless full-HD 3LCD ultra-short-throw

5 Extron IPL Pro S6 IP Link Pro control processors

3 Extron MediaPort 200 HDMI and audio to USB scaling bridges

interactive displays

switchers w/DTP extension

2 Epson ELPLX01 ultra-short-throw lenses

32 Extron PS 124 multiple-output 12V DC power supplies

2 Epson PowerLite 2255U wireless full-HD WUXGA 3LCD projectors

2 Extron Retractor Series/2 XL VGA-A extended-length

19 Epson PowerLite 5535U WUXGA 3LCD projectors

2 Epson Pro G7400UNL WUXGA 3LCD projectors w/4K

2 Extron RGB-HDMI 300 A RGB and stereo audio to HDMI scalers

13 Extron ShareLink 200 N wireless collaboration gateways

enhancement w/o lenses

cable-retraction systems

1 Extron DTP CrossPoint 108 4K 10x8 seamless 4K scaling

2 Extron SMP 352 3G-SDI - 400GB SSD dual recording

presentation matrix switcher

H.264 streaming media processors

3 Extron DTP CrossPoint 82 4K 8x2 seamless 4K scaling

5 Extron SW4 HD 4K HDMI switchers

1 Extron TLE 710 matching cable cubby for TLP 710CV and

presentation matrix switchers

4 Extron DTP R HWP 4K 331 D DTP receivers for HDMI –

1 Extron TLP Pro 1022M 10" wall-mount TouchLink Pro

Decorator-style wallplates

TLP Pro 720C installations

6 Extron DTP T 3G-SDI 330 D long-distance DTP transmitters

2 Extron TLP Pro 1022T 10" tabletop TouchLink Pro touchpanels

for 3G-SDI – decorator-style wallplates

touchpanel

2 Extron DTP T DSW 4K 333 3-input multi-format switchers

7 Extron TLP Pro 1220TG 12" tabletop TouchLink Pro touchpanels

5 Extron TLP Pro 520M 5" wall-mount TouchLink Pro touchpanels

w/integrated DTP transmitters and audio embedding

13 Extron DTP T HD2 4K 330 long-distance DTP transmitters

1 Extron TLP Pro 720C 7" cable cubby TouchLink Pro touchpanel

20 Extron TLP Pro 720M 7" wall-mount TouchLink Pro touchpanels

for HDMI w/input loop-through

3 Extron DTP T HWP 4K 331 D long-distance DTP transmitters

3 Extron USB Extender Plus AAP R twisted-pair receivers

4 Extron USB Extender Plus R twisted-pair receivers

for HDMI – decorator-style wallplates

5 Extron DTP T UWP 332 D long-distance 2-input DTP transmitters

3 Extron USB Extender Plus T twisted-pair transmitters

for HDMI and VGA w/audio embedding – decorator-style

2 Extron XTP CP 4i 3G-SDI 3G-SDI input boards w/stereo audio

wallplates

1 Extron XTP CP 4i 4K XTP 4K transmitter and receiver board

1 Extron DXP 44 HD 4K 4x4 HDMI w/2 audio outputs

1 Extron HDMI DA2 HDMI distribution amp

2 Extron XTP CP 4i HDMI HDMI input boards w/stereo audio

1 Extron IN1604 DTP 4-input HDCP-compliant scaler

3 Extron XTP CP 4o 4K XTP 4K transmitter and receiver boards

19 Extron IN1608 8-input HDCP-compliant scaling presentation

66 Sound & Communications May 2019

w/RS232 and IR insertion

w/RS232 and IR insertion

1 Extron XTP CP 4o HDMI HDMI output board w/stereo audio 1 Extron XTP CP 4o SA analog stereo audio output board 1 Extron XTP II CrossPoint 3200 Frame modular digital matrix switchers 11 Extron XTP R HDMI XTP receivers for HDMI 1 Extron XTP T HD 4K XTP 4K transmitter for HDMI 4 Extron XTP T HDMI XTP transmitters for HDMI 1 Extron XTP T UWP 202 2-input XTP transmitter – decorator-style

wallplate

19 Listen Technologies LT-84-01 ListenIR transmitter/radiator

combos

19 Marshall Furniture sit-to-stand motorized lecterns

w/ADA-compliant sliding tops

9 Panasonic AW-HE40SWPJ HD professional PTZ cameras 2 Panasonic AW-HEA10W camera PTZ controls 1 Panasonic AW-HS50 compact HD/SD live switcher 1 Panasonic AW-RP50NJ remote camera controller 4 QSC CDN64 Dante audio bridge cards 5 QSC Core 110f Q-SYS unified cores 10 QSC CXD4.3Q 4-channel 625W network processing power amps 4 QSC Q-SYS I/O Frame network interfaces 23 Shure MXW1 hybrid bodypack transmitters 6 Shure MXW2/BETA58 handheld wireless mic transmitters 5 Shure MXW6/O-Z10 boundary wireless mic transmitters 15 Shure MXWAPT2 2-channel access point transceivers 4 Shure MXWAPT4-Z10 4-channel access point transceivers 1 Shure MXWAPT8 8-channel access point transceiver The Alertus emergency-notification system is also extended to the digital signage system in place in the new buildings. The signage, which utilizes 55-inch displays in hallways and lobbies, will use beacons to alert and direct people, when needed. The notification system is programmed to override any other content on the displays.

20 Shure MXWNCS2 2-port networked charging stations 4 Shure MXWNCS4 4-port networked charging stations 10 Sharp PN-R426 42" full-HD LED edge-lit professional LCD monitors 7 Sharp PN-R556 55" full-HD LED edge-lit professional LCD monitors 1 Sharp PN-R703 70" class (69.5" viewable) LED display Selected equipment is edited from information supplied by Mt. San Antonio College.

May 2019

Sound & Communications 67

(main story continued from page 65)

sightline challenges in the stepped space.

Four Epson projectors (two 7,000-lumen laser projectors in front and two 5,500-lumen short-throw projectors in the rear) are ceiling mounted, and they illuminate four recessed Da-Lite screens. Two 159-inchdiagonal screens are in the front of the room, where ceiling height is greatest, and two 84-inch-diagonal screens act as rear confidence monitors for the instructor.

These can be split between inputs from the room’s three PTZ cameras, or they can be mirrored to show the same images simultaneously. The video is augmented by an Extron Annotator 300 annotation processor that lets the instructor annotate from his

The lecterns are of the Swiss Army knife variety, holding tools for just about every education application. The design features a motorized top surface that can slide downward toward instructors who might otherwise find the set height out of reach. This elegantly addresses Americans with Disabilities Act requirements while maintaining a minimal footprint.

or her touchscreen. Moreover, Extron SF 228T two-way SoundField ceiling tile speakers provide full-range distributed stereo sound in the large room.

Epson BrightLink systems are installed in 20 classrooms on the campus. According to Rodriguez, Mt. San Antonio College has invested significant ef fort to determine how and where that technology would be applied. “It provides the instructor with an interactive whiteboard that supports either pens or simple finger

touch,” he explained. “It can connect to the lectern computer, it supports wireless displaying and it supports interactive Whiteboard Mode that can be shared on personal portable devices for true collaboration. Due to [their size limitations], we had to design these systems to connect to the larger projection screen to display what the professor was doing on the much smaller interactive whiteboard.”

The lecterns at Mt. San Antonio College are of the Swiss Army knife variety, holding tools for just about ever y educational application. Rodriguez explained that the school collaborated with Marshall Furniture for more than two years, and through as many as seven iterations, on the design of a 48"x32" (WxD) rollable cabinet. Its width can be expanded with side-mounted drop leafs, but its real accomplishment is a motorized top surface that can slide downward toward instructors who might other wise find the set height out of reach. In this way, it elegantly addresses Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements while also maintaining a minimal footprint.

“It’s based on a stock product, but it’s been totally customized with the movable overbridge, as well as a laptop [holder] and a specialized cable-retractor system,” Rodriguez explained. “We even had them put a metal kickplate at the bottom of the instructor’s side, because we’ve seen what happens to lecterns over years of use. It’s a pretty amazing piece of furniture.”

Not surprisingly, a lot of information is being generated throughout this warren of high-tech classrooms. All of it is moved over

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Extron XTP DTP 24 shielded twisted-pair cable. However, video stays within the Extron DTP HDMI 4K 330 environment and it is processed locally. Audio, on the other hand, is routed through the QSC Q-SYS network, sent to a central processor located on each floor and then routed back to the classroom. That’s done to enable the audio from an Alertus Technologies emergency-notification system to be routed throughout the classrooms, as well, on the same network, and to meet paging requirements.

The emergency-notification capabilities are extended to the digital signage system in place in the new buildings. The signage, which utilizes Sharp 55-inch displays in hallways and lobbies, uses beacons to alert and direct people when needed. The Alertus system is programmed to override any other content on the displays, as well as the LED marquees. They are connected to UPSes, enabling them to continue to work in the event of power loss.

Teaching The Teachers The control systems at Mt. San Antonio College integrate a lot of AV, but they’re demystified by two important concepts.

The first is ease of use, as exemplified by Centerpoint Communications technicians’ programming, which uses clear iconography and color coding to make the controls as simple as possible for the instructors to navigate. The second concept is the school’s rigorous training of the instructors on the systems. “We were ver y aggressive and intentional on this project about providing training on the control panels,” Rodriguez declared, “[with] mandatory scheduling of training sessions and reinforcing the need to attend.” He continued, “We held two sessions a week, for two months, leading up to the start of the semester to teach the teachers.”

As it turns out, the instructors were model pupils. According to Rodriguez, some instructors actually came to more than just one session. “This technology has had the impact it’s had because the teachers were able to become comfortable with it before the semester began. Another result of that is that we’re getting very few trouble calls.

And the ones we do get are less panicked because the users are comfortable with the systems.”

Furthermore, Mt. San Antonio College’s Presentation Ser vices department is de-

veloping a work-study program through which some students will do remote technical support for classroom users. “Just knowing that’s there will also help a lot,” Rodriguez affirmed. Bayorgeon added that the touchpanel controller programming would be mirrored across the larger campus for existing and future classrooms, creating a consistent control environment throughout the campus. “No matter which room you’re in, you’ll know how to work it,” he stated.

Mt. San Antonio College graduates

will owe a great deal of gratitude for the planning and execution of a teaching and communications infrastructure like this one. What they won’t owe, however, is the kind of massive student-loan debt that now burdens many graduates from other learning institutions. The school keeps classes priced at just $46 a unit, a fraction of what many institutions that do not approach this level of sophistication cost. “A lot of work went into the front end of this…the design part,” Rodriguez concluded, “but the benefits make it all worth the effort.”

A dental student practicing dentistry skills on a manikin in the Simulation Lab.

Live group and archived lectures educate at Western University.

D E N TA L S C H O O L’ S N E W H Y B R I D 70 Sound & Communications May 2019

Dentistr y is a highly skilled profession, and it requires years of education to master. Long before your trusted dentist asks you to open wide so he or she can examine your oral cavity, that dentist has undergone extensive education in health sciences. Prior to entering dental college, most students have at least a four-year college degree, and some have a master’s degree, as well.

Accordingly, this article offers a detailed look inside a Dental Simulation Lab (Sim Lab) at Western University’s (Western U) College of Dental Medicine (CDM) in Pomona CA. This Sim Lab provides training for aspiring dentists that is as close to reality as possible before they conduct actual procedures. AV is ver y much a part of instruction, along with small-group discussions and students practicing on manikins in dental chair stations within the lab.

Flexibility for present use and future expansion characterizes the AV in Western U’s Sim Lab. Thus, AV designer/integrator ClearTech (Altadena CA) had the goal of replacing components within the existing AV system in order to bring it up to today’s technology standards and ensure the consistent, reliable performance required for the frequent usage of the Sim Lab. Among the new key components are a powerful dental microscope, 4K video sources, 4K networking, 55-inch LED-backlit displays for improved viewing at 20 dental stations within the main room, advanced DSP and a bevy of ceiling speakers.

Your author wishes to commend the invaluable assistance of

(L-R): Dean Steven Friedrichsen and Miary Andriamiarisoa, Director of Educational Technology.

CURRICULUM

BY JIM STOKES May 2019

Sound & Communications 71

How The Sim Lab Prepares Dental Students For Real Patients

Students get an opportunity to hone their skills in a highly realistic environment.

Sara Goldblatt, Business Operations Associate and Program Coordinator at Western U Health Sciences, as well as Executive Assistants Michelle Luna and Patricia Lozano in researching information for this article.

Hybrid Curriculum Before we launch into our AV journey, here’s some background on the dental school’s new hybrid curriculum, as well as how it encompasses AV, as related by Sandra Farah-Franco, DDS, MS, Assistant Dean of Dental Sciences Education/Assistant Professor.

“Part of the innovation was to take the entire curriculum, which consisted of about two-and-a-half years of lectures and simulation sessions, and convert all lectures into an online format,” she explained. “We deployed this new curriculum format and called it the ‘hybrid curriculum’ in the fall of 2017. However, we found that the technology in the lab was lacking and wasn’t supportive of this new format.”

Farah-Franco continued, “Sometimes, we show videos in the Sim Lab. Then, the 72 Sound & Communications May 2019

students get together, usually in eight small groups with eight faculty, where they engage in discussions and knowledge gained on the platform. We have several faculty demonstrate the procedures that were described in the online platform. Then, right then and there, we’re also recording the demonstration and feeding it right back for the student to access. So, there’s a lot going on.”

The Sim Lab of fers as close to an actual scenario of a student working with a real patient as possible. “The hybrid curriculum allows us to develop a true competency-based curriculum,” FarahFranco emphasized. “As the student acquires knowledge and skills, they can go and apply it immediately in a real-world setting—meaning, treating patients right away. And therein lies the challenge, because students learn at various rates based on their ability.”

According to Christina DeBono, President of ClearTech, the unique nature of the Sim Lab necessitated a close working relationship between integrator and client that included many different perspectives

According to Sandra Farah-Franco, DDS, MS, “In dental education, you can’t have an incoming student treat patients right away. We have to help them acquire the skills and the knowledge [by having them] practice in a simulation setting as close to reality as possible. Students can practice, be assessed and measured to evaluate if they are indeed ready to apply those newly acquired skills in a real-life setting with a live human.”

The updated Sim Lab presently provides a venue for practical training in undergraduate operative, fixed and removable prosthodontic, endodontic and oral surgical technique. Additionally, the space is an invaluable part of Western University’s continuing education programs, in that it provides an ideal environment to teach advanced endodontic, surgical and dental implant procedures. The Sim Lab enables the dental school to fulfill an important role as an education partner in the practical training component of the local communitycollege-based dental assisting and hygienic programs. from the client side. “We were able to work with a group of end users in a ver y niche application, which is providing teaching technology at a dental school. What’s also unique is that the end users—including the dentists, the dean and the associate dean of the college—worked with us directly on how our technology would apply specifically to their course curriculum,” she recalled.

“It’s a ver y unique situation, because you’re teaching dental students how to do dentistr y, then applying next-generation AV technology to that teaching process,” DeBono continued. “And that’s even down

Overhead displays enable easy viewing for all students, regardless of where they are working.

to how we program the touchscreens that reflect the way they teach. We spent a lot of time inter viewing the ECD Curriculum Manager and Assistant Professor, Brian Chui, who was in charge of that project.

He’s ver y up on technology. For example, the dental college needed a ver y special type of microscope and camera to show details of dental work to the students. We integrated the microscope and camera into

the system and the touchscreens.”

AV Integration Within the Sim Lab, 20 NEC 55-inch flatpanel LED-backlit displays are arranged back to back in pairs. These displays are suspended from Chief ceiling mounts above the student stations. The ultra-HD displays are designed for 24/7 operation with reliable color reproduction of 10 bits or more.

“The NECs were selected for their reliability to reproduce colors more accurately than full-HD or other ultra-HD professional displays,” Joe Perez, Chief Technology Officer at ClearTech, said. “They also provide great viewing angles for students, which really helped with the selected placement of the displays. The NECs offer full control of color, brightness and gamma, which was helpful, as well.”

May 2019

Sound & Communications 73

Every component of the room, including its technology, is centered on enhancing student learning.

The Sim Lab students are seated at individual student stations; there are approximately 80 of these stations. At each station, the students work on manikins seated in dentist chairs, as though they were actual patients. “Each student has their own manikin,” Farah-Franco explained. “It’s a model with plastic teeth made by a company called A-dec, [based in] Newberg OR. The student can practice all the procedures, including cleaning teeth and drilling, on a manikin with teeth.”

The students can turn their attention from their manikins to the NEC displays mounted overhead when they need to.

Prior to this installation, each student station was equipped with a small computer monitor. Farah-Franco described how replacing those individual monitors with the NEC overhead displays has improved the learning experience. “Before this update, we only had 80 five-inch individual monitors for each student,” she recalled. “When the Sim Lab was established in Januar y 2010, we had AV, but we were only able to feed one zone at a time, and the signal was not 4K. It wasn’t even high definition, which is cumbersome, because intra-orally in dentistr y you have to have var ying shades of 74 Sound & Communications May 2019

white. So, the resolution and the ability to show the differences was not there.”

“The new location of the large monitors really opens up the room visually,” Steve Friedrichsen, DDS, Professor and Dean at Western U CDM, added. “The previous monitors were really like mini walls between the various units. I think it has improved the communication and socialization from that aspect, as well.”

As noted, Brian Chui, DDS, Essentials of Clinical Dentistr y (ECD) Curriculum Manager/Assistant Professor at Western U CDM, is credited with redesigning the Sim Lab’s display system from the previous layout with individual monitors to the present layout featuring the 20 55-inch displays.

“We were able to work with Dr. Chui, who really came up with the graphical user interface that would make it easier to use and makes perfect sense from a user/instructor perspective,” said Perez. “I worked on product selection, the number of sources and displays to fit the budget, as well as system schematics. [ClearTech Senior System Engineer] Ernie Luna did the commissioning and field engineering on this project and put our design into a functional system.”

System Flexibility Both ClearTech’s Perez and Western U’s Chui agreed that the updated system offered lots of flexibility. “The equipment was designed so that it would be futureproofed for the next five to 10 years,” said Chui. “So, it’s scalable.” Affirming the flexibility of the updated AV, Chui noted, “If we wanted to, we could have 10 different sources running all at once in the room. So, there are multiple possibilities of teaching multiple topics all at once.”

Regarding challenges, Chui said the position of the monitors was critical, because they needed to be visible to students who would be seated, for the most part. “Since we were limited to 20 monitors, we had to strategically place the monitors where students can view one or more displays,” he explained.

“The project took about a month to install,” Perez said. “The customer was ver y flexible with us doing the installation….

Some of the greater challenges were the amount of structural support necessar y for the 55-inch monitors hanging over the student stations. The student stations are permanently affixed to the ground, so they can’t be moved. Another challenge for us

was implementing the Crestron NVX system and having only been certified two days prior to the installation. But Crestron really helped us complete the project as intended.”

The AV design for the Sim Lab prioritized flexibility and future expansion of the system, and, according to DeBono, Crestron NVX was an essential part of ensuring the viability of the system for years to come, although it presented a learning curve for ClearTech. “Using Creston’s NVX was a way of futureproofing the system,” she said. “With the number of sources and destinations, it ended up being a much more cost-effective solution for this particular client. Installing AV-over-IP was a change from our traditional AV systems.”

The dental school also invested in a new Global A-Series dental microscope for training that provides a more than 100,000-lux output. “The intraoral dental microscope has been around for a while,” Chui pointed out. “The new Global model is an upgrade that allows us to magnify the smallest details and get up to 20 times the normal size of a tooth. The microscope is mounted on a moveable arm, and the dentist positions the

microscope to use for the procedure. Then, there’s a high-definition camera that’s attached to the microscope. So, whatever the dentist is doing is fed to the students for viewing.”

“We had completed the install before the new scope showed up,” said Perez. “So we provided HDMI for the scope and camera connections.” The camera is a PTZOptics model with pan/tilt/zoom functions. ClearTech also provided two HDMI inputs for the client-furnished Dell 4K desktop PC and three HDMI inputs for laptop and auxiliarytype connectivity at the instructor’s desk.

“The PTZ camera is used to record faculty as they’re demonstrating the procedure, or for recording the actual procedure. So, the PTZ is a ver y fancy webcam,” said Chui.

“There’s also an Elmo 4K document camera for the instructor to do more widescale, wide-view demonstrations, such as drawings.” The existing Mediasite room recorder/streamer allows the students to review demonstrations later for clarification.

Sim Lab Audio “The new audio system allows us to present four different zones in the area,” said

Chui. “Previously, we only had the ability to send audio to the Simulation Lab and the adjoining support lab. However, the current audio in the Sim Lab is broken up into three separate zones. So, if there’s activity on the left side, we can send audio there without interfering with the other half of the class. The same goes for the right side.” There’s also a third setting that controls audio for the entire room.

The Sim Lab’s adjoining support lab is the fourth audio zone. “The Sim Lab expands audio into this room so they can hear the lecture or anything that’s going on in the main room,” said Perez. “Both the Sim Lab and the support lab have their own wireless microphone for instructor presentations within each room.”

There are 20 JBL 26C ceiling speakers in the Sim Lab and 10 in the adjoining support lab. “We knew that we wanted future flexibility, so we fed with Dante digital audio via Biamp DSP and a Yamaha digital amplifier,” said Perez. “This combination has been great for us in the past and present.

The school’s internal AV team upgraded their wireless microphone system. ClearTech added a Shure antenna distribution

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EQUIPMENT Display System 10 Chief CMA115 ceiling plates 10 Chief LCB1U large flatpanel ceiling mounts 1 Dell custom high-end gaming PC dual 4K (2 HDMI sources) 1 Elmo MX-1+Connect Box 4K doc cam w/HDMI output expansion, 30fps,

(1 HDMI source) 1 Global Surgical Equipment Global A-Series microscope 1 Mediasite RL220 room recorder/streamer 20 NEC X551UHD-AVT2 55" LED ultra-HD displays for 24/7 operation 3 PC laptops at instructor’s desk (1 HDMI source) 1 PTZOptics HCM-1C-WH ceiling mount for HD Camera 1 PTZOptics PTI2X-NDI-WH PTZ HD camera w/NDI (1 HDMI source) Audio System 1 Biamp TesiraFORTÉ DAN CI digital audio server w/12 analog inputs and

8 analog outputs 30 JBL Control 26C 6.5" ceiling speakers 3 RDL STD-10K passive audio dividers/combiners 2 Shure UA505 antenna brackets 2 Shure UA825 antenna cables for distribution 1 Shure UA844SWB antenna distribution system 2 Shure UA8-470-542 half-wave antennas 2 Shure ULXD4-G50 wireless mic receiver kits 4 Yamaha XMV4140-D multi-channel digital amps Control/Switching System 1 Crestron CEN-SWPOE16 16-port PoE for touchpanels and device power 2 Crestron DMF-CI-8 DigitalMedia card chassis frames for DM-NVX encoders 20 Crestron DM-NVX-350 DigitalMedia 4K 4:4:4 HDR network AV encoders/decoders 11 Crestron DM-NVX-350C DigitalMedia 4K 4:4:4 HDR network AV

encoder/decoder cards 1 Crestron DM-XI0-DIR-160 Digital Media Xi0 Director virtual switching appliance Crestron Fusion monitoring and scheduling software 1 Crestron Pro3 3 Series control system 1 Crestron TS-1542-TILT-B-S 15.6" HD touchscreen, tabletop w/tilt (black, smooth) 1 Crestron TSW-560-560-W-S 5" touchscreen, wall-mounted 1 Extreme Networks X440-G2-48P-10GE4 48-port network managed switch Rack/Accessories 2 Furman PL-8C 9-outlet, 15 amp power conditioners w/pull-out lights 1 Middle Atlantic BGR-41SA-32 41RU equipment rack 1 Middle Atlantic BGR-552FT-FC rack-top fan exhaust kit 2 Middle Atlantic PDT-1620C-NS vertical power strips List is published as supplied by ClearTech Media.

76 Sound & Communications May 2019

The dental simulation instructor media center.

system to allow presenters to be anyplace within the two rooms and have the signal be reliable.”

Regarding control and signal switching, “ClearTech installed AV-over-IP [infrastructure] in parallel to the client’s network for the Crestron NVX and Dante systems only,” said Perez. “In the future, the NVX can be added to the school’s network. NVX enables any/all sources to be routed to any/all displays.” Thus, Crestron’s new NVX network AV solution provides greater flexibility and scalability for future expansion, as previously mentioned.

AV access is via a 15.6-inch HD tabletop touchscreen in the main room and a five-inch wall-mounted touchscreen in the support lab.

ClearTech provided programming for the system, as well.

Digital Maturity Miar y Andriamiarisoa, Director of Educational Technology/Assistant Director for Innovation at Western U, gave his perspective on the new CDM AV update. He’s involved with IT for the entire university. “My role is to ensure that we leverage technology in order to enhance teaching and learning,” he shared.

“I’m a promoter of technology. You know, we live in the 21st centur y, which is dominated by technology and also disrupted by technology.

We have to make sure that we’re using technology in a way that provides top-notch education for our students. That means ensuring that our classrooms and also our faculty members are well equipped from a technology standpoint.”

He noted that translates into what’s called “digital maturity,” which relates to one’s ability not only to understand technology, but also to solve practical problems at the organizational or institutional level. “That’s all part of what I do here, so that our digital maturity level goes up ever y year,” Andriamiarisoa said. “It’s an exciting and challenging endeavor.”

He explained that one of the technical challenges on this project was that the Sim Lab has a complex system where there is a large number of connected AV systems. Initially, ever y single student station in the Sim Lab had to be updated. Rather than have 80 displays for 80 student stations, the number of displays was pulled back to 20.

The upgrade in video resolution also added to the system’s complexity. “There’s the fact we went to 4K, where initially we were just using HD signals,” Andriamiarisoa said. “So, moving from HD to 4K results in four times more traffic. We had to re-engineer the old system to a stage where it’s a lot more manageable.”

He highlighted two features that help the students reinforce their learning. One is the aforementioned Mediasite, which is a room recorder/streamer. “Students would like to review the lectures, so the whole lecture session conducted by a professor is recorded,” Andriamiarisoa described. “We set up a [Mediasite] lecture-capture system in order to record the lectures and the sessions. Once the class is over, students can access the site.

Students find this extremely helpful. On the spur of the moment, sitting in class, you don’t have time to digest the material. But when you go back and review the whole session, the lecturecapture system allows you to get into deep learning as opposed to surface learning. You ingest a lot more of the learning component than other wise.”

The second learning-aid feature is Zoom videoconferencing.

“Zoom is a streaming solution we’ve just incorporated within the dental lab,” said Andriamiarisoa. “The idea is to allow external viewers to be participants. Zoom allows remote viewing and also

offers recording. So, in addition to Mediasite, which records the local sessions, we have Zoom as a backup that can remotely record that session.”

There’s also Crestron Fusion software incorporated within the system that monitors all the AV equipment within the room.

“Fusion allows you to know, for example, if a projector lamp is going to die within 25 hours,” Andriamiarisoa said. “The Fusion monitoring system allows our tech-support team to operate the entire room remotely. Fusion plays a dual role. The first role is support that can be done via the web interface. The room can be controlled remotely. The second feature is that it gives you information about critical data on the use of AV components in the room, so you can be active rather than reactive when dealing with maintenance.”

Patricia Lozano, Western U’s Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staf f and Executive Director, Public Af fairs and Marketing, nicely summed up our ar ticle’s informational goal. “I think how ever ything in the room and the equipment is set up helps the students enhance their learning,” she said. “Times have changed. We don’t use the same technology. Dentistr y is done dif ferently. The [Sim Lab] sets high expectations on how training is done.”

We’ll close with a simple dentistr y lesson that anyone can learn, even without a high-end AV system: Be sure to brush and floss!

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May 2019

Sound & Communications 77

PROVIDING DIGITAL SIGNAGE IN A ‘JUST GOOD ENOUGH’ WORLD

By Mike White, CTS, DSCE, DSDE

AV INTEGRATORS THE INDUSTRY IS CHANGING...

AND YOU CAN’T STOP IT!

By Robert White, CTS, DSCE, DSDE

78 Sound & Communications May 2019

While the digital signage marketplace continues to grow and mature, our potential customers are changing dramatically. Today, many organizations—from large enterprises to small specialty companies—operate within a whole new buying reality. This new reality has nothing to do with any kind of overarching “vision” and ever ything to do with the guiding principle of “Just Good Enough”—or the mentality that in all things AV/IT, the most cost-effective solution will always be “Just Good Enough.”

My company, Unified Technology Solutions, and many other professional AV/ IT integration companies are finding that more and more organizations are treating

digital signage like they have historically treated other AV/IT gear. I have stood before many of my potential customers and heard them dictate to me that they want X number of screens of this size and X number of screens of this size, and many have conveyed with passion that they see no point in buying expensive commercial screens. “Give me the most effective and cheapest TV screens in the right size, or I will just buy them myself,” is a common refrain that we hear. I know we are not the only integration company hearing this from potential customers. This is our lived reality.

It is important to understand where this

“Just Good Enough” mentality is coming from, and why it is so prevalent. The “why” is because there has been so much maturity in the AV/IT marketplace (or knowledge transfer among the manufacturers) that even the least-expensive AV/IT gear is pretty darn good. It is a fact that there is less dif ference between commercialgrade gear and consumer-grade gear today than there was 10 to 12 years ago. There are still differences, of course. When it comes to digital signage, these dif ferences are most often demonstrated in the equipment’s ability to dissipate heat (the number-one enemy of electronics), as well as disparities in resolution and color satu-

ANALYZE DSE 2019 Change is never easy.

signs of stopping.

The digital signage industry continues to move at a pace that few can keep up with.

need external player hardware to accomplish some unique tasks, like maybe an ad-

Doing More With Less

vanced interactive solution that requires

Most of us sticking with it are just holding

The move toward fewer boxes means

lots of horsepower to render the video and

on, hopefully smiling and enjoying the ride!

the remaining boxes are more flexible.

maybe custom touch drivers. However, out-

There is excitement at every turn, with new

I’ve written on this topic before, but, the

side of those outliers, your everyday digital

solutions at every waypoint to improve out-

fact is, it continues to happen, and it’s

signage tasks can almost assuredly be ac-

comes. But with those solutions come the

happening at a rapid pace! There are ver y

complished by SoC solutions. So, we have

“C” word: change. If there is one thing that

few CMS solutions that don’t support an

removed a box, the external player, and

stays the same in this industry, it is change.

SoC player anymore, and there are virtu-

now the commercial display has become

With that in mind, I would like to highlight

ally no commercial display manufacturers

both the display surface and the player

some fairly recent changes that show no

that don’t offer an SoC solution. You still

hardware. In fact, you can use SoC players May 2019

Sound & Communications 79

ration. But these differences don’t always move the needle for end users. Many—if not most—customers today are satisfied with “Just Good Enough.” This standard often guides decision-making in the area of digital signage. Many customers will often assume that they can just choose the most cost-effective/cheapest product, and that will be “Just Good Enough.”

But where is the “Just Good Enough” mindset coming from? Many of our potential customers are getting inundated with deals from manufacturers that promise if they purchase a cloud-based video collaboration/videoconferencing solution, they will also get free digital signage and room scheduling. Meanwhile, AV/IT integrators are pounding our heads, asking, “How did

we lose these digital signage deals?” Let’s open our eyes and look from the perspective of our customers. They see that word “free” before digital signage, and they are often like a four year old at a toy store.

They just know they want it and must have it right now. Their decisions are often based on a world of instant everything, including instant gratification. So, our customers embrace the free stuff or, failing that, the most cost-effective stuff (notice I did not say “solution”).

Are we getting the picture? Our potential customers have been conditioned to think of digital signage as something of a value-add, rather than something that has value in and of itself. They are unknowingly (or sometimes knowingly) making a “Just

Good Enough” decision.

So how does this buying reality impact DSE and the state of the digital signage industry? DSE is the world’s most powerful gathering of technology serving the digital signage community. Yes, there are bigger technology shows, but none with a singular focus on digital signage. But why should integrators make the investment (and it is an investment) to come to DSE to see the latest and greatest digital signage solutions in a world of “Just Good Enough”?

DSE for the integrator is a land of opportunity—not to find new customers, although that may happen, but to find new value propositions for your customers and to sharpen your own skills. One can always be impressed by the big, flashy booths of

for videowalls now, and even multi-touch

that—by the numbers—they became the

getting to the point where they are as big

applications.

most popular choice for classrooms, meet-

or bigger than a 2x2 videowall of 46-inch

ing rooms, etc., unless you just needed a

displays, yet cost 27 percent less through

Extra-Large Display Surfaces

massive display surface. In the past three

some of the major manufacturers. Just two

Let’s take a quick walk down AV memory

or so years, we have seen the cost of laser

or three years ago, to get an LCD display

lane. Five to eight years ago, if you were

and LED-based low-maintenance projection

close to 100 inches, you might have spent

looking for a large display surface, you

come down to, in many cases, sub-$3,000

close to $20K—and, many years before that,

were probably looking at projection or a

and $4,000 prices, making them again a

you might have spent upwards of $100K for

thin-bezel LCD videowall as your main op-

popular choice for classrooms and meet-

a plasma display of that size. Now, you can

tions for indoors. Next, we saw a trend in

ing spaces needing large display surfaces.

spend less than $9,000 for a commercial

the past five years where the cost of 70-,

However, what we have seen in the past

98-inch display. So, when you’re looking for

80- and 90-inch screens had dropped so low

year or two are LCD LED-backlit displays

your next larger display surface for a class-

80 Sound & Communications May 2019

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the major manufacturers, and they are worthy of your time. But if you really came to work the show and not to party, then the real jewels are found in the smaller booths around the peripher y of the show, as well as in the classes that are provided at DSE both on and off the floor. (I would not encourage anyone to invest their money to attend DSE who has the mindset that they already have all the knowledge they need.

They won’t get anything out of DSE with that attitude.)

While the digital signage industr y is

evolving rapidly, the absolute needs of a successful digital signage system do not change. There will always be a certain set of essential elements in a digital signage ecosystem. At the top of the list, there will always need to be a return on investment (ROI) or return on objective (ROO)—or both—as a reason for investing in digital signage in the first place. There will always be an absolute need for quality content that is relevant, in a length that respects dwell time. There will always be an absolute need to deliver content at the right time and to

have that content removed from the playlist when it is no longer valid, which means it’s important to choose the right content management system (CMS). Other essential elements include connectivity, choosing the right hardware for the duty cycle and ambient conditions, installation logistics, long-term ser vice and support, and one more especially important factor: training the right people to support the end user’s investment in the long term. Integrators can add to their understanding of all of these elements by attending DSE.

room or executive boardroom, my guess is

cloud offerings finally put the last nail in

overnight. Let’s be honest—this happened

you’re going to get rid of those bezels and

the on-prem coffin? Looking across the

a lot faster than the “Analog Sunset” we

expensive videowall mounts and go with

show floor, there might have been a few

were all warned about. (Show of hands:

that single 98-inch or 100-inch display on

CMS providers that still support—or even

How many of you still have a VGA port

a tilt mount and call it a day!

still sell—on-prem solutions, but I couldn’t

on your laptop?) In some ways, this trend

name one that had an on-prem solution as

is surprising because of those customers

its flagship offering anymore. While we all

we encountered along the way who told us

DSE left me asking this year if that

knew this was going to happen eventually,

they wanted control of their ser vers and

was it for on-premise solutions. Have the

in some ways it seems like it happened

would not go to the cloud. This is certainly

The Cloud Casts Its Shadow

82 Sound & Communications May 2019

Understanding these absolute needs and being able to explain why they are important is the most effective way to present and sell digital signage as a value proposition. It can also be stated that, if the potential client does not find these essential elements to be of value, then it is time to move on and come back six months later, after the client has had a dose of “Just Good Enough.”

Discussing these essentials also ser ves the potential customer by helping them recognize and understand why “Just Good

Enough” will not deliver on the promises of either ROI or ROO. So, if you are a prospective digital signage customer, listen carefully to the salespeople tr ying to sell you digital signage. If they are not challenging you to consider each of these essential elements, then they either don’t know the essentials themselves or are a “Just Good Enough” reseller. (Notice I do not believe they deser ve the title “integrator” if they don’t do their job and are just selling boxes.)

With all that being said, here are my ma-

jor takeaways from this year’s DSE. 1. Cloud-based digital signage is in, and on-premise digital signage is on its way out.

2. Distributors and manufacturers believe it is important to have a professional contentcreation team, so they are continuing to invest in and purchase existing resources to provide this ser vice offering to their customers. (The distributors provide content-creation ser vices to integrators, and manufacturers provide these ser vices to direct customers.) The majority of CMS companies still sell direct and claim to be

proof that you can’t discount the effect that

DSE. I’ll save you some time: “Haptics” is

whose controlling computer would change

larger software companies like Microsoft

the study of touch interaction—in our case,

the haptic interaction based on the content

(Office 365) and Adobe (Adobe Creative

as it relates to technology. So you could

chosen—in essence, changing the resis-

Cloud) have on our industr y.

say we’ve had a haptic-focused industry for

tance your finger had when moving across

some time now, with touchscreens and all.

the screen. One of the use cases demon-

This year we found technology in some

strated was a touchscreen that allowed us-

If you’re like me, you thought you needed

booths that took haptics to the next level.

ers to experience how their faces would

to Google “haptics” as soon as you saw this

One of these happened to be in the Mimo

feel to a newborn if they had a beard versus

description emblazoned on some booths at

booth, where there was a touchscreen

if they were clean shaven. This experience

A Haptic Year For DSE

May 2019

Sound & Communications 83

a complete integration solution. I still find this challenging as a true AV/IT integrator, who enters every digital signage opportunity agnostic to both hardware and software and who only makes my recommendation after I have fully vetted the digital signage opportunity and understand what special needs my customer will have. All CMS hardware and software are not created equal for all markets.

3. There are still too many CMS solutions, and too many CMS providers don’t understand or care that, when they sell direct,

they are competing with AV/IT integrators and seldom deliver the full digital signage solution on their own.

4. Ever y year, fewer old-guard CMS companies elect to make the investment in exhibiting at DSE, yet senior executives from those companies can still be found walking the floor. I will leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions as to why they consider it worthy of their time to attend as individuals, but not for their company to have a presence at the show.

5. Digital signage today will have new

traction provided by video collaboration companies like Zoom and Lifesize, as well as some of the BYOD companies offering “free digital signage.”

6. SoC (system on a chip) is going to continue to grow rapidly, and, since the SoCs are getting more and more powerful, more CMS companies are adopting the platform.

It is also true that more CMS solutions are designed to run on something other than Windows PCs. 7. BrightSign continues to grow through partnering with others while developing

was absolutely incredible—rarely am I as

ally touching anything.

at DSE at this point is old hat, but what

stunned as I was when I experienced this.

There were plenty of other touch-related

shook things up a bit this year was some

At the BrightSign booth, show attend-

solutions at the show that were amazing in

unexpected manufacturers getting in on the

ees could use Ultrahaptics’ virtual mid-air

their own right. So it goes without saying

action. Sharp and NEC both were show-

touch technology to interact with content

that touch-based interfaces are here to stay,

ing new intelligence platforms that gather

on a nearby screen. That’s right—because

and are only getting more interesting.

and compile useful data to support making intelligent and informed decisions. Sharp’s

of the ultrasound technology used by the Ultrahaptics solution, you could experience the feeling of touch while you weren’t actu84 Sound & Communications May 2019

Big Data & Big Brother Having audience-recognition software

solution seemed to be geared more toward gathering data from the workplace. The

more power and flexibility on its very costeffective digital signage players. In other words, there is no other digital signage hardware manufacturer that I am aware of that is so aggressively integrating with other manufacturers (both hardware and CMS providers).

8. Thanks to laser-light engines, as well as powerful 3D mapping, projectors offer digital signage solutions that rival or exceed even direct-emit LED walls.

9. Speaking of LED walls…. The pixel pitch of LED signs continues to get smaller and

allows unbelievable image quality even for people standing near the display. That, combined with the technology’s ability to be ver y bright and withstand the harsh ambient conditions of the outdoors, means LED surfaces are going to continue their dramatic growth. Prices are coming down ever y year, as well.

10. Engagement and interactivity rule the digital signage market. Dynamic content that is engaging and interactive will be essential to content providers that intend to rise above the noise of “Just Good Enough”

content.

All in all, DSE 2019 did not disappoint those who made the investment to be there. There is still great opportunity for AV/IT integrators who want to succeed in this “Just Good Enough” world. Simply put, AV/IT integrators have to sell value over boxes. To be successful, they must know the essential elements of a digital signage system and be able to articulate those in a dynamic fashion that is worthy of the customer’s time. Attending DSE can help them do just that.

solution showed ever ything, including us-

things like message efficiency and message

show and their potential impacts. I would

age of interactive boards for scheduled and

viewer rate, and it even features artificial

like to leave you with a final thought: Great

unscheduled meetings, and even went as

intelligence (AI) that allows users to apply

things never come from comfort zones. So,

far as tracking data on room temperature

meta tags to different ads so the system

I hope you’ll push past your comfort zone,

and ambient light. On the other side of the

can intelligently schedule the ads and show

push the boundaries of digital signage and

show floor, NEC was showing how its ALP

them in the right places.

create your own trend in one of the hottest

(Analytics Learning Platform) Pro platform

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look across

could be used to help make smarter retail

the DSE 2019 show floor and our discus-

decisions. The solution was able to show

sion of some of the biggest trends at the

growth sectors of AV.

May 2019

Sound & Communications 85

Amicus employees in the UK sought to use their notebooks as their communications devices anywhere within their offices.

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This dedication to complex scientific medical innovation and a corporate philosophy grounded in compassion for its disease communities provided the perfect backdrop for Yorktel to act as a trusted strategic and technical advisor during Amicus’ technology transition. Recognizing the emerging trend around the “Future of Work” and its impact on unified communications (UC), Yorktel guided Amicus through a shift in mindset that would ser ve the organization and its patients both today and far into the future.

Today’s Top Technology Trend Microsoft and companies around the world are realizing that UC is no longer a singular business silo—rather, it is a single component of a broader vision around client productivity and digital workplace transformation.

Microsoft Teams is at the forefront of this shift, offering a collection of tools that facilitate and increase productivity across lines of business. Applications which traditionally functioned separately, such as file sharing, chat, teaming, presence, video, audio, etc., are all condensed into the single application of Microsoft Teams.

This merging creates tremendous return on investment (ROI) and adds an entirely new dimension to traditional measures of productivity. As a result, today’s business leaders must pivot their 86 Sound & Communications May 2019

leverages

emerging

tech

understanding of the UC world to embrace this new attitude toward productivity in the workplace.

Overcoming Challenges With Innovative Workarounds Shifting the traditional mindset: The Amicus Leadership Team tasked VP of Global Information Technology Fred Weisenbacher with providing the productivity enhancements in the workplace that would enable Amicus to deliver innovative solutions to people living with rare and orphan diseases. The task of envisioning and delivering this strategy fell to the wider technology leadership group including Gary LaSasso, Amicus Director of Collaboration Experiences and Technologies, and Pedro Vega, Associate Director, IT Infrastructure. Collectively, this group tasked themselves with developing a long-term strategy to move Amicus from its existing siloed UC solutions to a cohesive productivity solution with Microsoft Teams. Complicating this effort was the need to minimally disrupt the existing client experience for scientists, researchers and associated stakeholders as they moved the Amicus mission for ward.

Amicus sought a technology solution to address both today’s business needs and to embrace the Future of Work and digital workplace transformation trends. The overarching challenge (in addition to any technical hurdles) was to broaden the client’s mindset to embrace a more futuristic vision of productivity—or, as a more specific example, enable a graceful transition from Skype for Business to Teams, rather than advising a less-refined rip-andreplace approach.

Workarounds for no Microsoft third-party audio: Amicus’ first step in its journey to a true Teams environment was to begin

the process of moving from a traditional on-premise audio solution to the cloud with some of the elements of Microsoft Office 365.

The first workload Amicus wanted to migrate as part of its strategy to increase productivity was the voice workload. The disruption in the marketplace ushered in by Microsoft around online voice was only further complicated by Microsoft’s decision not to support third-party audio with Teams. This decision complicated the process, as Amicus needed not only to move its voice workload to the cloud, but also to do so in such a way as to ensure that the decisions made today while working with Skype for Business would gracefully roll into its planned Teams deployment.

Microsoft’s divergent path for Teams voice disrupted 10 years of strategy for integrated traditional voice and audio conference providers, as well as the thousands of customers who consumed this ser vice. Instead of the traditional offerings, Microsoft entered the telecom space offering its own voice ser vice for use with Teams. However, this option while in its nascency did not coincide with Amicus’s footprint, which included multinational locations in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

H u m a n To u c h nology

to

boost

To address the complexity of the evolving marketplace and the requirements of Amicus, Yorktel crafted several workarounds to address this challenge.

In Europe, Yorktel developed a plan to migrate from Skype onpremise to Skype in the cloud, preparing a routing scenario that will allow the UK to gracefully transition to Teams when Amicus is ready to begin that effort in 2019 or early 2020. Yorktel advised a similar approach in North American locations and addressed the technology issues in sites where traditional Skype online wouldn’t work.

In Japan, Microsoft does not yet have an audioconferencing or voice footprint, so Microsoft could not provide Skype or local support for voice. Although the choices were numerous, only four options would allow Amicus to deploy a solution with Skype for Business that would gracefully transition to Teams when Amicus was ready to take the next step in its productivity journey. Using a combination of a cloud PBX and configuration from the Yorktel Microsoft Cloud Architects, the four options presented were all different approaches to a direct-routing capability developed by Yorktel that allowed Amicus to join local SIP trunks directly into

BY NOEL GISH

innovation

and

productivity.

Amicus Therapeutics is a global, patientdedicated biotechnology company that needed to expand its office footprint around the world.

May 2019

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the Microsoft Office 365 environment.

For each of these scenarios and the numerous others that emerged, Yorktel assessed the impact of location and geography, and drew on its understanding of data sovereignty and General Data-Protection Regulation (GDPR), to determine the correct approach for maximum productivity.

This Microsoft voice component is just one example of how, apart from the dayto-day integration details, Amicus was counseled to consider the larger picture of overall client productivity—exercising the forethought to begin migrating different tools in a way that could easily transform them into the Teams package. Between Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, York-tel positioned these tools—audio, video, etc.—in a way that allowed them all to roll up with Teams, creating the best transition plan for Amicus moving forward.

Dif fering rules and requirements across locations: Because Amicus is a global company with several locations in different countries, it had to ensure its solutions were in keeping with each country’s

own version of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. The Yorktel team confirmed the appropriate technology choices on a location-by-location basis. This required knowing what the specific standards were for each country—for example, the appropriate telco, taxes and associated costs.

This challenge demanded several layers of decision-making. If it was determined that direct routing was a better option than the Microsoft voice configuration at a particular location, then other decisions regarding how to implement direct routing flowed from that choice. This required navigating the complexity of each country’s flavor of the FCC and how that impacted implementation.

Challenging vendor technology selections: In-depth knowledge of the full range of vendor technologies played a vital role in selecting which components to choose across Amicus’ solution. Due to the significant variance in the circumstances between office locations, Yorktel had to carefully select products which would directly address the challenges of each site. Ultimately, Microsoft, Voxbone, Polycom and Crestron

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products and services were integrated into the global solution, recognizing the benefits each vendor offered in each scenario.

Overcoming an abbreviated timeline: Yorktel faced an extremely aggressive timeline set by Amicus. Amicus had initiated the UK component of the project with another vendor, who failed to deliver against the timeline. Upon jumping in, the team worked on an abbreviated schedule, and immediately started strategizing with Amicus. The “catch-up” factor loomed large and produced additional pressure for the team. Fortunately, they were able to complete the project despite this challenge, both on time and on budget.

A Successful Shift To Futuristic Thinking This project was about more than shifting to innovative technology that would impact the client’s Future of Work and digital workplace transformation. Amicus’ mission is to deliver the highest-quality therapies for persons living with life-threatening conditions.

The Amicus technology leaders efficiently and effectively divided the workload and shared envisioning work with Fred Weisenbacher, and then turned responsibility for execution of the shared vision over to Gary LaSasso and Pedro Vega. This model, and the commitment to building a shared vision before implementation, allowed Amicus, in a short time, to confidently execute the first key steps to technologically enabling the corporate mission of helping its teams be more productive in the most expeditious manner possible.

Amicus’ scientists and researchers offer hope to a small segment of society which the medical establishment largely ignores, due to the rarity of these diseases. Yorktel’s role was not only to serve as a trusted advisor and technical guru—it was to ensure that the Amicus team was shielded from the daily minutia of how to implement its vision across the shifting global landscape.

The greatest accomplishment for the Amicus team was aligning its voice strategy with its larger productivity strategy around Microsoft Teams. The Amicus team was able to successfully replace its existing solution with little or no disruption to the client. Enabling research and business to continue uninterrupted was the short-term win, but the long-term goal of enhanced productivity around Microsoft Teams is now clearly in view.

INTRODUCING THE

Come thirsty for knowledge.

And good cheer! We’ll be debuting our first ever TMP-Pro Booth Crawl at Infocomm starting at our Booth #7059. Meet our certified TMP-Pro Specialists and learn about the benefits of working with us such as one-stop shopping, overnight delivery, staging orders, 200+ brand selection, drop shipments to job sites, and more. Next you’ll be led on a guided tour stopping at several booths of top brands we work with to discover their most exciting products. On the last stop of the crawl you’ll have the option to celebrate your efforts over a complimentary cold beer!* *Happy Hour will take place Wednesday & Thursday on the last stop of the crawl.

Participating Brands on the TMP-Pro Booth Crawl may include:

Visit TMPPro.com to view over 200 of the top professional audio, lighting, video and accessory brands!

To sign up or learn more about the Booth Crawl at 2019 Infocomm stop by the TMP-Pro Booth, #7059 and meet with a TMP-Pro Specialist. Tours scheduled periodically throughout the show. ©2019 The Music People | All Rights Reserved

tmppro.com

MARKET BRIEF

By Amanda Mullen

Education Facilities Education is a market that is constantly evolving to meet the demands of its students, as well as the requirements of various industries. Not only do universities need to keep up with growing populations, but they also must embrace technological advancements, especially when it comes to fields of study that require more hands-on learning experiences. For these reasons, plenty of colleges are building additional learning environments for students, and they’re equipping those spaces with new technology intended to enhance time spent in the classroom. In addition to learning spaces, many universities are also putting time and money into revamping recreational facilities; this is especially true of colleges that

boast higher numbers of residential students. Dormitories are being built and remodeled to accommodate growing populations, as well as expectations that residents will get their money’s worth when it comes to housing complexes. Dining halls and other communal areas are also cropping up more often, and with a greater emphasis on quality—a testament to how much effort schools are putting into attracting potential attendees. And, of course, athletic facilities require frequent maintenance for universities that place importance on sports teams. All in all, education facilities are regularly undergoing renovations and designing new buildings—and they show no sign of letting up any time soon.

Advancements At Auburn

Auburn University, located in Auburn AL, is one education institution that has made significant improvements to its campus over the past few years. The university is currently wrapping up construction on its $70 million performing arts center, dubbed the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center, and that’s only the beginning of the facilities being added to the school’s campus. Auburn University is also set to begin construction on a 151,000-squarefoot engineering complex that will house both classrooms and laboratories, as well as a three-story dining center. The buildings that make up the Academic Classroom and Laboratory Complex (ACLC) will replace Parker Hall and the Allison Laboratory, both of which will be demolished by the time the facility is completed. If all goes according to plan, the new buildings will be capable of seating around 2,000 students between more than 20 classrooms and labs, as well as five lecture halls planned for the space. In designing these learning spaces, the university also intends to make them adaptable—enabling them to become either ordinary classrooms or laboratories depending on what’s needed during any given semester. The engineering facility will increase the amount of learning space on campus, and it will become the second-largest area of instructional space at Auburn. (The first is the university’s Haley Center.) The ACLC project will cost $83 million to complete, and the university expects the construction to come to an end by summer 2022. The 800-seat dining hall will cost $26 million and is set to open in fall 2020.

A culinary-science facility is also among the changes being made to Auburn University’s campus. With this addition, the college intends to provide students interested in entering the culinary and hospitality fields to gain early first90 Sound & Communications May 2019

A rendering of the new classroom and laboratory complex (left) and dining hall (right) being erected at Auburn University.

hand training and experience.

The $94.5 million center will be called the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center, and it will amount to a total of 142,000 square feet upon its completion. In designing this complex, the university plans to fuse a classroom environment with a luxury boutique hotel and a restaurant, both of which will allow students to gain firsthand experience in their fields. Other features of the culinary center will include a 40-seat teaching restaurant, a 9,000-square-foot food hall, a Heyday Market, a Distilled spirits center, a Brewing Science Laboratory and a Wine Appreciation Center with room for up to 50 students. Additionally, there will be a Food and Beverage Media Studio, enabling students to learn about culinary

A rendering of the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center being built at Auburn University.

photography and videography. The cost of the project will be paid using donations to the College of Human Sciences, general funds from the school and revenue from the culinary center’s dining areas. As of the time of this writing, the facility is scheduled to open in 2021.

MARKET BRIEF Innovative Illinois

Auburn University isn’t the only education institution investing in more interactive learning spaces for its students. The University of Illinois (UI) is also building a $75 million classroom instructional facility at its Champaign IL campus. The building will replace the school’s clay tennis courts to the west of the Grainger Engineering Library. The project was approved by UI trustees last fall, and as of the time of this writing, the groundbreaking was scheduled for April 12. The four-story building will contain 24 advanced classrooms—more than almost any other building on campus—that will be utilized for programs requiring more space. Most of the classes the university intends to offer in this new building fall into the engineering, math and computer science categories. According to those designing the facility, the goal is to make the classroom spaces more interactive and collaborative. There’s even a plan to include a distance-learning classroom in the building, which will connect remotely to off-site students.

The development team for the project is comprised of Chicago IL-based Vermilion Development and Campbell Coyle Real Estate. Provident Group will build and own the facility under a public-private fund-

How About Housing?

Although learning is obviously the focal point of any university, education isn’t solely about what happens in the classroom—especially when it comes to college-level institutions. Housing is another huge component of university campuses, particularly in regard to schools that boast high numbers of residential students. And the higher the number of students living on campus, the more facilities that are needed to house them. This is an issue the University of California (UC Davis) is addressing by adding a new housing development to its campus. The apartment complex will be called The Green at West Village, and UC Davis broke ground on the project back in December. As of the time of this writing, at least 1,000 beds should be completed by the time the fall 2020 semester begins. In total, the apartments will house up to 3,300 students upon completion. The remaining spaces are expected to be ready for use by fall 2021. The Michaels Organization of New Jersey is the developer on the project, while Stantec of Edmonton, Canada is the architect and CBG Building Co. is the general contractor. The Green at West Village will consist of nine apartment buildings when finished, and each building will be four stories high. There will also be recreational spaces both indoors and outdoors, including a 10,000-square-foot community building that will offer students a fitness center and other

ing arrangement that allows the company to rent it out to UI. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and Pepper Construction are the other partners on the project. If all goes as planned, the facility should be fully constructed by spring 2021, and usable by the fall semester the same year. UI is also discussing other classroom projects in the near future. In fact, the university recently pledged to spend up to $4 billion in maintenance for its campus, focusing on everything from major remodeling to smaller repairs.

A rendering of The Green at West Village housing development currently being constructed at UC Davis.

services. Construction on the project started back in December, and, upon its completion, the apartment complex will be operated by the Collegiate Housing Foundation.

Athletic Additions

Sports are another major aspect of university life for many students, so it stands to reason that colleges would put money into making athletic facilities as modern and advanced as possible. Wichita State University (WSU) is one institution that is investing in sports by building a Student-Athlete Success Center on its Wichita KS campus. The school recently approved a $10.4 million construction contract to begin the project, which will also include renovating sections of its existing Wichita State University’s basketball arena as well. WSU Athletics and Student Athlete Success the WSU Foundation raised $13.8 million in Center will house the private funds toward the project. The funds school’s basketball and volleyball teams. that surpass the $10.4 million required to construct the center will be applied to other costs, including design and equipment. The Student-Athlete Success Center will comprise two stories and amount to a total of 36,000 square feet when completed. The additional space will be used to house the university’s men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball teams. Hutton is the builder for the project, and GLMV will take on the role of architect. The groundbreaking for the

Student-Athlete Success Center is currently scheduled for June, and the school expects that the complex will be finished around July 2020.

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NEWS Compiled by Amanda Mullen

USAV Group Announces New Dealer Advisory Council Members USAV Group, a division of PSA Security Network, recently made several additions to its Dealer Advisory Council (DAC). The DAC is a group of elected integration leaders who advise USAV on programs, strategies and initiatives. During the USAV Spring Partners Meeting, held in Tampa FL in February, USAV integrators elected Jay Kowalsky, Director of Audiovisual Operations, Red Thread (as DAC Member); Robert Hammond, VP Technical Operations, Stage Front (reelected as DAC Member); and Travis Deatherage, President, LINX Multimedia (reelected as DAC Member and Chair).

Incumbent members remaining on the DAC are Erinn Helphingstine, VP Sales, Mission

Electronics; Dirk Propfe, CEO, ET Group; and Brent Berger, Partner, Bridges System Integration.

“The Dealer Advisory Council provides critical insights to ensure USAV consistently delivers value to our stakeholders,” Chris Salazar-Mangrum, Managing Director of USAV, said. “I am looking forward to working with this council to further leverage USAV’s industry-leading role to help move the organization and its members forward in the industry.”

USAV also offered its thanks to outgoing DAC Member Lisa Perrine, CEO of Cibola Systems, who served on the DAC from 2015 to 2019.

Cedar Point Relies On One Systems Loudspeakers

AVIXA Foundation To Host 5K Walk/Run At InfoComm The AVIXA Foundation will host its first 5K Walk/Run at this year’s InfoComm show on June 14 in Orlando FL. Proceeds from the event will go toward fulfilling the AVIXA Foundation’s mission of attracting and developing students for careers in AV. A new strategic plan developed by the AVIXA Foundation board focuses on communicating the career opportunities available in the AV industry, providing students with training to enable them to get their first job and connecting them with jobs in the AV industry.

The 5K Walk/Run will begin on Friday morning before the show floor opens at the North/South building of the Orange County Convention Center. The top three women and top three men for best race times will receive awards. In addition, groups of five or more

Cedar Point Amusement Park, based in Sandusky OH, has been gradually converting its outdoor soundreinforcement systems to One Systems loudspeakers since 2012. The decision was made by Jerry Beck, Supervisor of Technical Services for the park.

“We started the transition seven years ago when we needed some larger areas covered with less loudspeakers,” Beck explained. “We did quite a bit of shopping around, and, through an introduction by Eric Choucroun at Washington Professional Systems, we found One Systems loudspeakers—the best directweather product out there. At this point, they are all I specify for our outdoor distributed sound systems in the concourse, midway and rides.”

Since then, Beck has replaced roughly 150 of the park loudspeakers with One Systems speakers, and he has plans to replace the remaining 250 or so over the next few years.

“We now have systems that we can rely on working from season to season—that’s powerful magic for us,” he added. “I don’t have to do a lot of testing in the spring to figure out how many loudspeakers need replacing. They are the most reliable direct-weather loudspeaker we have ever used.”

The 364-acre amusement park is the second-oldest in the United States, with a normal operating season of early May through Labor Day in September. The city The Fire and Ice Stage at Cedar Point is equipped with four loudspeakers stacked on the stage and is known for its very warm, humid summers and cold four subwoofers located under the stage. winters, which can play havoc on systems that are installed outdoors. up of 212.HC loudspeakers. The Cedar Point This year, Beck specified 38 112.HC loudspeakers for the Cedar Point Shores outdoor dining area staff handles most of the installations, with and dozens of 112.HTH, 212.HC, 108.HTC, 212.HTC and 106.HTH loudspeakers for installation Washington Professional Systems occasionthroughout the park. The Fire and Ice Stage is equipped with four 312.HC loudspeakers stacked on ally being engaged to bring in additional the stage and four 118.HSB subwoofers located under the stage. installation support services for the larger The Magnum XL-220 and Mine Ride roller coasters will be equipped with zoned systems made projects.

92 Sound & Communications May 2019

NEWS individuals can register as a team and compete for the Best Team Spirit Award.

“InfoComm is such a great time every year,” Heidi A. Voorhees, Chief Operating Officer, AVIXA, and Executive Director of the AVIXA Foundation, enthused.

Voorhees continued, saying, “The AV community assembles for a week of exploring new technologies and solutions, learning from each other and celebrating how AV impacts our lives. We’re excited to bring another fun, social experience to the week’s lineup: our first 5K Walk/Run. Participants will not only get their strides in; they’ll support the Foundation’s new and focused efforts to develop future AV professionals.”

The AVIXA Foundation 5K Walk/Run is sponsored by Crestron, Epson, NEC and SYNNEX.

DSE 2019 Delivers Second-Largest Attendance In History Digital Signage Expo (DSE) revealed that the total verified attendance at its 2019 event, which took place in Las Vegas NV from March 31 to April 3, was 4,260. That number represents a 6-percent gain compared to 2018 and is the second-largest attendance in the show’s history. International attendees, sourced from 63 countries, accounted for 17.6 percent of the overall attendance. In addition, DSE delivered the highest number of qualified end users in its history: 1,848. This audience included many new end-user attendees, as well as many familiar ones. Attendees represented a range of organizations, including Canada Post, Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, Crate & Barrel, PepsiCo, Smashburger, NASCAR and others.

Much of the feedback supported the organization’s claim of increased attendance.

“We had so many visitors to our booth at DSE,” Aaron Pompey, General Manager for AOPEN America, said. “You know, we did a lot of marketing, of course, but DSE brings a lot of great partners and end users. When I walk around from booth to booth, I see a lot of familiar faces.”

“DSE is the only show you can walk into and you get everything,” Rich Ventura, VP of Product Marketing and Solutions for NEC, added. “I mean there are installers here, there are integrators…you can go down the list of it. We’ve been involved since day one, and it’s great to watch the show expand and grow.”

Matt Czyzewski Appointed President Of Renkus-Heinz Renkus-Heinz has appointed Matt Czyzewski to the position of President, effective May 2019.

Czyzewski joins the company following his 22-year tenure at Biamp, where he started as Product Manager and worked his way up to VP, Executive VP, COO and finally CEO. During those years, he contributed to the growth of the company, leading up to 350 employees company-wide in three locations in the US and Australia. Czyzewski was a primary driver of five Biamp product lines, which received more than 30 industry awards.

“Matt Czyzewski’s combination of engineering, business development and progressive management experience makes him a great choice to lead Renkus-Heinz into the future,” Harro Heinz, Renkus-Heinz Founder and CEO, said. “Matt understands the importance of constantly innovating to develop new and better technological solutions, and he thinks globally. We’re thrilled that he will be our new President, and we welcome him to the family.”

“Renkus-Heinz is that rare company that has been an industry legend for decades but never rests on its laurels, continuing to deliver new, groundbreaking products,” Czyzewski added.

“I have been impressed with the Renkus-Heinz sound quality for many years and know that is why their speakers are used in many of the most impressive houses of worship, performing arts centers and other top venues. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to lead Renkus-Heinz’ exceptional team to even greater success.”

Listen Technologies Names Maile Keone President Listen Technologies Corp., a provider of assistivelistening and tour systems for 21 years, has named Maile Keone as President of the company.

She will be responsible for executing Listen Technologies’ business plan. Keone, a technology industry sales and marketing expert, previously served as the company’s Chief Revenue Officer.

She replaces Listen Technologies’ Founder, Russ Gentner, as President. Gentner will remain CEO. Tracy Bathurst has been promoted to Senior VP and has agreed to remain CTO. These executive moves are part of a plan that will afford Gentner more time to focus on strategic planning, business development and partnerships, the company reported. Keone, with support from Bathurst and the executive team, will focus on running the day-to-day operations of the business.

“It has been an honor to serve as President of Listen Technologies, and I am incredibly proud of the growth we have experienced as an organization,” Gentner remarked. “We will continue to develop industry-leading products, deliver outstanding customer service and forge strong industry and channel partnerships. Maile has been instrumental in this success, increasingly taking on the responsibilities of President and executing our business plans.”

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NEWS PSNI Develops Deployment And Service Certification To deliver on a standardized approach to global deployment and support across its network, the PSNI Global Alliance has created a proprietary deployment and service certification for its members around the world.

This certification, which is mandatory for alliance membership, comes as PSNI Global Alliance enters into its sixth continent with more than 170 offices around the world.

The PSNI-exclusive Global Deployment Certification assesses the skill, knowledge and understanding of multi-destination project and support needs, as well as how to address the common issues with multisite and multi-country deployment and service. This process comes from the PSNI Global Deployment and Services Handbooks designed for PSNI members.

“The PSNI Global Alliance network shares a common vision to provide global reach and local solutions for our customers around the world,” Chris Miller, Executive Director of the PSNI Global Alliance, said.

“Customers can be assured that, when you work with a PSNI Global Alliance integrator, you are working with a company that thoroughly understands and is compliant with the best practices and procedures for global integration and support.”

To achieve PSNI Global Deployment Certification, PSNI Global Alliance member integrators must demonstrate a mastery of global AV deployment practices and network resources as outlined in

In Memoriam: Monroe Jost Monroe Jost, Founder of J&S Audio Visual (JSAV), died on April 6. Born in 1947, Jost was a passionate entrepreneur who relished the challenge of launching a new venture, and, in 1986, he purchased Hoover Audio Visual by taking out a loan that had to be paid back in 12 months. Unconcerned with the timeline, Monroe was confident that if he focused on one aspect of the business—customer service—he would be able to quickly grow a client base and generate enough revenue to pay off the loan. In twelve months, Jost did just that, creating the foundation on which he would build his company.

During the next 30 years, he led the company’s expansion into other US markets and abroad, growing JSAV from a dozen employees to 650. As JSAV continued to expand, Jost stayed true to his core tenet that this business is all about people and relationships.

His son, Kevin Jost, became President of JSAV in 2014. Monroe continued to lead the company as CEO, cheerfully engaging employees until his last day in the office. (He officially announced his retirement on March 21.)

Jost’s leadership was marked by a true open-door policy. There was not an employee at any level with whom Jost would refuse a personal meeting. He traveled the country, visiting the company’s branch offices and the many hotel and event properties where JSAV maintains onsite offices.

His passion was the people, and he enthusiastically met with and encouraged the widespread but close-knit JSAV family of employees and clients. He ran JSAV with the firm belief that if the employees enjoyed their jobs and were having fun, their happiness would be passed along to their clients and customers.

His legacy will continue through the core values he practiced and instilled in the people who comprise JSAV. 94 Sound & Communications May 2019

the PSNI Global Deployment and Services Handbooks.

To ensure each project strictly adheres to the PSNI Global Deployment process, PSNI Global Alliance integrators provide peer reviews focusing on response time, information accuracy, and whether they have met or exceeded customer expectations. A PSNI Global Deployment Service and Oversight Committee will further assess the compliance of members and projects.

CALENDAR June AIA Convention 2019 Jun. 6–8 Las Vegas NV AIA www.conferenceonarchitecture.com InfoComm 2019 Jun. 8–14 Orlando FL AVIXA www.infocommshow.org GlobalShop 2019 Jun. 25–27 Chicago IL Emerald Expositions, LLC www.globalshop.org LSI: Light & Sound Interactive Jun. 25–27 Rochester, NY Light & Sound Interactive www.lightandsoundinteractive.org

August The DJ Expo Aug. 12–15 Atlantic City NJ Testa Communications www.thedjexpo.com

NEWS

AVIXA Names Sarah Joyce Chief Global Officer AVIXA has named Sarah Joyce as the association’s next Chief Global Officer. Joyce takes over the role from Terry Friesenborg, who will retire at the end of the year. Joyce joins AVIXA after nearly 12 years at Electrosonic Ltd., most recently serving as the company’s Managing Director. She and Friesenborg will jointly manage AVIXA’s global operations for the remainder of this year in order to ensure a smooth transition.

“I am delighted to be joining AVIXA,” Joyce said. “I have long admired how the association has evolved and developed over the years, particularly in its expansion of member services and international growth. Around the world, the AV industry comprises many types of organizations delivering a variety of solutions and services; we are a broad and powerful community. I look forward to working with AVIXA’s talented staff and global partners to help our industry harness innovation, further encourage diversity, and grow the market for audiovisual experiences and the people who create them.”

In her position as AVIXA Chief Global Officer, Joyce will oversee all of the association’s activities outside North America, including member services, education and certification delivery, standards adoption, government relations and expositions. In addition, she will sit on the boards of Integrated Systems Events (ISE), InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd. and TecnoMultimedia InfoComm, as well as other regional operating units.

Prior to this appointment, Joyce served on the AVIXA Board of Directors from 2013 to 2015. She also organized the inaugural Women of InfoComm Network Breakfast at ISE in 2015, helping establish the AVIXA Women’s Council, which now supports more than 32 groups around the world.

Bluewater Forms Alliance With Felix Media Solutions Bluewater Technologies Group, Inc. has formed an alliance with Felix Media Solutions (FMS), an AV integration company based in Austin TX. Under the terms of the agreement, Bluewater will offer meeting and event support, access to retail offerings, and creative and software services to Felix Media Solutions’ customers. Furthermore, Bluewater will assist with larger AV integration projects for Felix Media Solutions’ new and existing clients in Texas.

As an AV provider servicing higher education, healthcare, retail, corporate and banking verticals nationwide, Bluewater will be able to expand to more markets in the south through this new alliance, while providing Felix Media Solutions with access to additional service offerings.

“Texas is a strategic market for Bluewater, and we wanted to find an alliance partner to meet its fast-growing needs,” John Tracy, CEO, Bluewater, commented. “In Felix Media Solutions, we have found the perfect technology- and software-savvy team to address the AV and live events needs of the high-growth Austin market.”

“FMS has been looking for a partner that would share the same vision and values around how to meet the market and how to build an amazing culture,” Lionel Felix, President/CEO, Felix Media Solutions, added. “With Bluewater as a partner, FMS can be the best version of itself and help serve more markets alongside a company that embodies excellence and vision.”

Center Stage To Return To InfoComm This Year Center Stage will return to the InfoComm show floor this year, from June 12 to 14 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando FL. Leaders and practitioners from the fields of retail, entertainment, hospitality, events and more will take the stage to explore how AV technology contributes to better experiences. The Center Stage sessions will feature experts from well-known firms and brands, including Gensler and Google, and creative studios, such as Vita Motus and Quince Imaging.

“Center Stage is a representation of how AV can create staggering impact across a variety of markets,” Rachel Bradshaw, Director of Program Design, AVIXA, said. “The speakers will discuss how AV enhances people’s lives and provide attendees with actionable advice that can be applied directly to their projects.”

Joining the Center Stage lineup is Heather Shaw, CEO of design studio Vita Motus, who will chat with Center Stage Program Director Kirsten Nelson about how Shaw’s team creates visual and physical productions for artists, festivals and brands. Megan Lubaszka, Gensler’s Southwest Regional Creative Media Leader, will share insights into the retail market from Gensler’s Experience Index. Eric Gazzillo, Producer for Quince Imaging, will discuss how the esports viewing experience is rapidly transitioning from online-only to increasingly large-scale live spectator events. And Google’s AV Engineering Design Team’s John Arpino, CTS-D, and Joseph Miklovic, CTS-D, CTS-I, will explain how looking at the role of the AV design engineer with a different lens will lead to new possibilities for careers.

On June 13 and 14, Center Stage will also host “Meet the Experts” sessions, where people will have the opportunity to network with the speakers and ask questions.

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NEWS Drunk Unkles To Play NSCA Education Foundation Concert

Dallas Morning News Keeps Stories Rolling With NanoLumens Display The newsroom at the Dallas Morning News has been delivering breaking stories to residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth area for more than 130 years. The newsroom recently received an oversized technology upgrade with the integration of a 6mm pixel pitch, 75'Wx2'H NanoLumens Nixel Series LED display that serves as a 24-hour news ticker showing the organization’s latest headlines. According to Gerald Reeves, Project Manager for Facility Solutions Group (FSG), the company that installed the display, the Dallas Morning News wanted a technology that only NanoLumens could provide.

“Facility Solutions Group recommends NanoLumens products as a top-tier display solution, and that is exactly what this installation required,” Reeves said. “We considered other manufacturers, but, in the end, there was little comparison. Our clients trust us to deliver the ideal technologies to satisfy their needs, and NanoLumens’ unique products and capabilities are increasingly considered the best of the best.”

The plaster-finished mezzanine, where the display was to be mounted, was built in 1951 and required significant engineering to develop a support structure that would retain the architecture’s historical value while supporting the massive LED display. FSG used 3D modeling to ensure tolerances were within limits and all expectations were met to the historical society’s satisfaction.

“The new ticker display at Dallas Morning News is further proof that we can deliver stunning LED displays in whatever size and shape is required,” Eric Siegler, NanoLumens Regional Sales Manager, Southern Midwest, said. “Whether they are intended for a single purpose, or to be used for varied content and audiences, NanoLumens can design and build a display for any location.”

The NSCA Education Foundation has announced the Drunk Unkles’ first NSCA Education Foundation Charity Concert of the year, scheduled for June 12 at B.B. King’s in Orlando FL. Now in their 14th year of supporting the NSCA Education Foundation, the Drunk Unkles have generated more than $1 million for the industry through this annual event.

Donations gathered during the charity concert allow the NSCA Education Foundation to establish meaningful and impactful programs, offer scholarships, and provide training opportunities for new professionals and industry veterans. This year, all proceeds will go to Ignite, an industry initiative established by the NSCA Education Foundation. Ignite’s goal is to generate interest in communications technology by connecting local high school and college students with manufacturers, dealers and integrators to spark imagination and encourage students to consider new career paths in this industry.

“As Ignite connects students with future employers in our industry, we want to make sure this initiative continues,” Chuck Wilson, Director of the NSCA Education Foundation, said. “We’re already seeing the difference Ignite is making in the lives of students—and in the businesses of integrators—and this NSCA Education Foundation Charity Concert will raise funds to ensure that its success continues.”

SynAudCon To Present Training Seminar At InfoComm SynAudCon will present a three-day training event called “OptEQ—Equalization Demystified” at this year’s InfoComm show, being held in Orlando FL from June 8 to 14.

SynAudCon owners Pat and Brenda Brown announced the seminar, which will be held prior to the exhibition show from June 8 to 10 in the Orange County Convention Center West. The training will offer a comprehen96 Sound & Communications May 2019

sive approach to sound system tuning, which combines contemporary and legacy design and equalization practices into a logical, accurate and repeatable process. OptEQ is a set of tenets that can be applied using almost any mainstream dual-channel FFT measurement system. Course instructor, Pat Brown, reinforced, “The training is based on principles, not products.”

OptEQ is a three-step approach to sound system optimization. The first step concerns the loudspeaker, the second its placement in the room and the third the room itself. Step one is direct field optimization that produces reference response for the loudspeaker that confirms it is functioning as designed and to its fullest potential. Step two adds an equalization layer to compensate for anomalies caused

NEWS

AVIXA Adds Victoria Dade To Its Board of Directors AVIXA has appointed Victoria Dade, National Partner Director for Sonic Foundry, to serve on its Board of Directors.

At Sonic Foundry, Dade is responsible for managing and recruiting reseller partners, consultants and integrators to the company’s Mediasite business through its Certified Partner Program. She has also held leadership positions with Anystream, YellowBrix, Teleglobe and Global Crossing. Dade previously served for three years on the AVIXA Leadership Search Committee (LSC), and she currently serves on the AVIXA Membership Committee and AVIXA Women’s Council.

“We appreciate Victoria’s willingness to serve again,” David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD, Chief Executive Officer of AVIXA, said. “Her experience on the LSC, insight into what AVIXA and its Board are trying to achieve, and deep commitment to and enthusiasm for this industry will make her an invaluable asset.”

by boundaries around the loudspeaker. Step three addresses room resonances and coloration using a dual-domain approach.

SynAudCon is primarily promoting the event to audio professionals looking to bring sound systems to their fullest potential. The “OptEQ—Equalization Demystified” training event is approved for 24RUs. Professionals can register on InfoComm’s website.

The Paul and Warren Miller room at the Barbara Sumwalt Museum.

Projection Brings Enlightenment To Barbara Sumwalt Museum Located amidst the waters of the Pine Island Sound is Useppa Island, which is accessible only by water or sea plane. It serves as the home to more than 100 families and the Barbara Sumwalt Museum. Recently, museum officials elected to upgrade their projection capabilities. After careful consideration, the decision was made to implement projection technology from Eiki International.

Cape Coral FL-based design firm, Creative Sound and Lighting Solutions, was contracted to design and install the new projector setup for the museum. Rob Robinson, Co-Owner of the company, is actively involved in all aspects of its operation, including system design and implementation. After consulting with museum management, Robinson elected to install the Eiki EK-510U 7,000-lumen WUXGA 3LCD projector.

“The new projector that we deployed in the Paul and Warren Miller room at the Barbara Sumwalt Museum is an important tool in the museum’s education program because this particular area doubles both as a museum space and as a classroom,” Robinson explained. “While there may be some movies down the road, the primary focus for the projector is to help teach the history of the island, and also shine a light on our world’s ecological challenges, such as improving our environment.”

According to Robinson, the Eiki EK-510U projector is configured for front projection—from roughly 13 feet—onto a Vutec Lectric 1 motorized screen measuring 90x60 inches. The projector is discreetly mounted by placing the unit on a custom-built wooden shelf that perfectly matches the room’s aesthetics. All signals that feed the projector are transmitted from the source via HDMI. When asked about any challenges the setup presented, Robinson referenced the EK-510U’s corner-correction capabilities. “With this particular setup, we didn’t have the ability to shoot the image straight onto the screen,” he said. “Being that we were roughly 30 or more degrees off axis, we used the projector’s onboard corner-correction tools to ensure content was not distorted.

This feature enabled us to grab each individual corner of the projected image and adjust it until the image was balanced from left to right and top to bottom.”

The projector at the Barbara Sumwalt Museum was installed on January 4 and was first placed into service on January 18. Since that time, Robinson reports the new system has been extremely well received.

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NEWS Technomedia Rebrands And Restructures

Martin Audio O-Line Deployed For First Presbyterian Church TSH Audio and Visual recently completed a full audio and video upgrade of the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsford NY that included a Martin Audio O-Line speaker system.

The Syracuse NY AV integration company is five years old and specializes in house of worship (HoW) installations. Discussing the project, company Principal and Design Engineer for TSH, Timothy S. Harris, explained, “This was an upgrade of the existing audio system with the addition of new projection and updated video capabilities. In 2004, the church sanctuary had a lightning strike and burned down, so they rebuilt the space. But the original PA system started to fail over time; plus, it had a negative visual impact on the space as well.”

“In terms of audio,” Harris continued, “they had hung two large speakers from the walls, which never really worked in what is a very traditional church aesthetically, with stained-glass windows and side windows and a cross over the altar. So, they wanted a sound system that provided exceptional audio clarity, along with a streamlined and clean-looking appearance. That’s why we chose the Martin Audio O-Line modular micro line array system for this install.”

The sound system consists of six flown O-Line boxes, a Martin Audio DX4.0 advanced loudspeaker controller and Labgruppen E-10:4 amplifiers. The video system includes a Sony SRG360SHE camera, a Matrox Monarch HDX dual channel video encoder for video streaming, a Sony VPL-FHZ66 laser light source projector and an Atlona SW-500ED five-input HDMI video switcher for the video inputs and outputs.

Asked about reactions to the new PA system, Harris confirmed that the church loves how it sounds.

The sound for spoken-word services is much clearer. The church has an older congregation, and during the first two services with the O-Line, no one had any issues understanding what was going on.

Orlando FL-based Technomedia, an AV systems integrator and subsidiary of parent Mood Media, has announced a new leadership team and expanded offerings. Dubbed “The Innovation Lab of Mood Media,” the Technomedia team is now comprised of AV technologists and creative artists working together to provide integrated solutions for location-based entertainment and experiential engagements. Sister company GoConvergence (GoCo), a branded content agency that shares offices with Technomedia, will be developing the digital media content for its AV installations.

To oversee Mood’s innovation lab, the corporate office has also appointed new leadership within the ranks of Technomedia. Dan Moalli, SVP Business Development, will be sharing overall management with Chris Chuilli, SVP Operations. Both will report directly to Mike Roudi, Chief Information Officer of Mood Media. Michael Redman will move into the role of Creative Director, and David Aion has been hired as Director, Global Business Development. Aion, who has experience working in leisure-based and entertainment industries, will be providing international sales and global business development.

“The Technomedia team has been creating immersive experiences since 2002, and now offers something that other AV integrators do not—a fully integrated digital media and content creation studio,” Moalli remarked.

“Our ability to deliver award-winning attractions and installations is now matched with a talented production team, streamlining our workflow and expanding our capabilities to their full potential.”

Technomedia will operate solely out of its Orlando FL office, having consolidated all additional satellite offices as of January.

Phoenix Audio Technologies Launches Stem Audio Phoenix Audio Technologies has launched a new subsidiary, Stem Audio, which will offer conferencing solutions designed to simplify meeting communications and address common issues that IT professionals and AV integrators face.

“Stem is the result of us going out into the real world and asking end users, IT professionals, designers, consultants and architects what their pains are,” Jonathan Boaz, VP of Sales, said. “After hundreds of conversations and thousands of questions answered, Stem identified six pains common to almost every individual we met with. Everyone feels that designing rooms is still a massive challenge and installations are way too complicated. We also found 98 Sound & Communications May 2019

that objectively testing audio performance after an installation is nonexistent, and one-size-fits-all solutions are rarely what they claim to be. Plus, IT professionals are in desperate need of a remote management system and a way to avoid the learning curves associated with new technology adoption.”

NEWS Topics, Speakers Announced For Emerging Trends Day This year’s Emerging Trends Day will be on June 11, at the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando FL, during InfoComm. The day’s lineup of analysts, integrators, end users and technologists will examine the forces impacting the AV industry, from internet protocol, to disruptive audio and video, to unified communications and collaboration (UCC) and its impact on how companies work.

“The Emerging Trends Day speakers have seen firsthand how new technology is playing out in the real world and can tell InfoComm attendees about the change that’s coming, the challenges and the possibilities this technology unlocks,” Rachel Bradshaw, Director of Program Design, AVIXA, said. “This event arms attendees with the informed questions they need to ask on the InfoComm show floor.”

Emerging Trends Day will feature discussions regarding four major topics: AV over IP, immersive audio, display technologies, and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC).

Speakers will include Futuresource’s Anthony Brennan, AV Nation’s Tim Albright, IHS Markit Research’s Paul Erickson and Sanju Kahtri, RLab’s Janice Brown, ROAM Consulting’s Pete Putman, Recon Research’s Ira Weinstein and AV User Group’s Owen Ellis.

The event will be hosted by Sean Wargo, AVIXA’s Senior Director for Market Intelligence, who will pull all four trends together for an overall understanding of how the industry is transforming.

Crosby Church Adds Visual Flair Crosby Church, in Crosby TX, aims to foster well-established and well-rounded Christians who understand the gospel. To help its congregation get the most out of worship services, church management recently elected to upgrade the sanctuary with the addition of two EK-820U WUXGA laser projectors drawn from the catalog of Eiki International. Hardin Sound, Light & Video, based in La Porte TX, was contracted to deploy the projection equipment. The company’s Owner/Operator, Kevin Hardin, is responsible for all aspects of his company’s installation projects.

“I originally installed two Eiki projectors and 14-foot-wide screens back in 2001 when the 2,000seat sanctuary was built,” Hardin explained, “and those original projectors lasted nearly 20 years.

The church is now using HD cameras for their stream, as well as live images and lots of graphics and video material as part of their Sunday morning services. This necessitated newer, more capable projectors. With their 10,000-lumen brightness, the new Eiki EK-820U projectors, outfitted with AHA22020 lenses, provided the perfect solution.”

The two projectors are projecting onto matte white 24-foot-wide Draper Cineperm fixed-frame screens. With the frames mounted directly onto the sheetrock wall, they have plenty of support for the massive 24-foot spans. According to Hardin, “With the aluminum frame being so light, we were able to assemble and pre-drill the displays on the ground, attach them onto the wall and snap on the surface, making for a secure, streamlined setup.”

Crosby Church’s new projectors were installed in November 2018 and placed into service immediately after. Since that time, according to Hardin, the projectors have proven to be a big hit.

SYNNEX VISUALSolv Addresses Need For Training, Education As SYNNEX’s VISUALSolv business unit continues to address the need for cohesive technology solutions, the group is coming up with additional means of providing training and education to its customers. To start, it has developed a VISUALSolv Advisory Council, which is comprised of a group of integration companies with the shared mission of providing technology, services and tools needed to run more efficient and profitable businesses. The council is built on open feedback and actionable plans for members.

VISUALSolv also launched a comprehensive training program to help integrators address topics in digital signage, commercial AV, physical security and collaborative communications through an online classroom series. Customers can rely on industry-certified experts to help direct them in building cohesive solutions. Trainings highlight the comprehensive suite of cloud, IoT, secure networking and infrastructure support necessary to deliver immersive experiences. The program provides a number of tracks, including webinars, project spotlights, tech talks and industry event takeaways.

The VISUALSolv group has also developed a series of regional events for integrators, which targets local sales reps and spotlights products and solutions they can gain access to through

SYNNEX to help fuel their companies’ growth. There is a financial breakout session during each roadshow that covers the creative financial solutions and services SYNNEX offers.

According to Sandi Stambaugh, VP, Product Management, SYNNEX Corporation, “One of our strategic goals as a distributor is to fully understand our customers’ needs and continually bring value to their businesses.

After hearing their feedback, we’ve built a strategy for 2019 around education and training designed to meet customers where they are, and help them address critical topics as they continue to grow.”

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PEOPLE Compiled by Amanda Mullen

S. James

J. Powell

T. Kronenwett

N. Lee

A. Nuñez

B. Levine

D. Woolf

D. Stuart

S. Moeglin

P. Warrington

A. Chisena

C. Orcin

J. Colin Lugo

B. Lichty

P. Nunnally

C. Neto

D. Dillman

S. Palmer

M. Peterson

S. Sorrenti

Extron promoted Steve James to Sr. Director of Engineering…Pioneer DJ Americas appointed John Powell as President…Riedel Communications appointed Tobias Kronenwett as Head of Sales, Scandinavia and hired Nacho Lee as UK Sales Manager for Theater and Industry…Media Links hired Al Nuñez as Senior VP of Sales, Americas and EMEA… VidOvation appointed Bruce Levine as VP, Strategic Account Development…Biamp hired David Woolf as Senior Marketing Director…Electrosonic Group named Donald Stuart Managing Director, EMEA…LSI Industries appointed Steve Moeglin as Director of National Accounts…

Lawo welcomed Patrick Warrington as Senior Director for Technical Business Development…Apart Audio appointed Aaron Chisena as 100 Sound & Communications May 2019

Director of Business Development, North America…d&b audiotechnik appointed Christian Orcin as Managing Director of d&b audiotechnik Spain…Clear-Com expanded Joquebed Colin Lugo’s existing sales territory to include Brazil…AtlasIED hired Bob Lichty and Patrick Nunnally as Regional Sales Managers…Starin welcomed Chris Neto as Market Development Manager of its Engagement and Experience programs and Doug Dillman, CTS-D, CTS-I, as Technical Experience Project Manager…dBTechnologies welcomed Sean Palmer as USA Product Specialist…SM&W promoted Mark Peterson to Principal and Steven Sorrenti to Associate Principal…

PRODUCTS Compiled by Amanda Mullen

Shure’s Headset Mics

Shure’s TwinPlex line of subminiature omnidirectional lavalier and headset mics is designed to withstand the toughest conditions.

TwinPlex provides natural audio at both high and low frequencies.

TwinPlex consists of 4 lavaliers (TL45, TL46, TL47, TL48) and an ultra-light, fully adjustable headset microphone (TH53) in multiple colors. The dual-diaphragm omnidirectional design yields off-axis consistency and low self-noise, creating vocal clarity and warmth.

Available in 1.1mm and 1.6mm options, the paintable cables are immune to kinks and memory effects, resulting in flex performance due to a spiral construction with redundant shielding. The superhydrophobic coating and interchangeable sweat-resistant frequency caps keep perspiration and moisture from upstaging the audio, while the medical-grade cable technology flexes to fit the costume design and demanding schedules that often come with associated uses.

Shure www.shure.com

Williams Sound’s Assistive-Listening System

Williams Sound’s FM+ is an assistive-listening system able to broadcast both FM and Wi-Fi audio from a singular source.

The FM+ integrates professional WaveCAST Wi-Fi audio server technology into a Williams Sound FM assistive-listening system.

End users can listen with either an FM receiver or with their own smartphones (via the WaveCAST Listening App). Its optional Dante interface provides integrators with a full audio networking solution.

The FM+ enables those who want to use their own smartphones and headphones for a more discreet assistive-listening experience to do so. Simplicity is also available for those who want a more traditional assistive-listening system with a dedicated FM receiver and headset. FM+ supports the new iOS and Android WaveCAST Apps, as well as all of the Williams Sound FM receivers operating on the 72MHz to 76MHz bandwidth.

Williams Sound www.williamssound.com

Key Digital’s Distribution Amps

Key Digital’s KD-DA2x4G and KD-DA2x8G high-performance 18Gb/s HDMI distribution amps provide 2 HDMI inputs to 4 or 8 respective HDBaseT outputs. Both are designed for a distribution system without signal degradation. They offer front-end switching selection, enabling different content to be distributed to all 4 to 8 screens up to 328' away at 1080p resolution or 250' at 4K. All monitors are connected via long-range HBaseT receive units. All receive units are powered by the KD-DA2x4G and KD-DA2x8G, relieving integrators from the task of plugging in power supplies behind each monitor. Both amps feature an auto-sensing tool that will automatically switch to or from a newly detected source via Hot Plug Detection voltage. Analog and digital audio de-embedding of the selected source enables the distributed video content to also be fed into connected audio systems.

Key Digital www.keydigital.com

L-Acoustics’ Speaker Systems

L-Acoustics’ ARCS A15 and A10 systems and companion KS21 sub deliver concert performance and reliability for audiences of 50 to 5,000 in a compact format that offers versatility and ease of use. With the ARCS product range, L-Acoustics introduces a charter agreement offering rental partners meeting the ARCS standard system requirements the opportunity to join the official L-Acoustics rental network. The ARCS family comprises 4 constant-curvature enclosures—the A15 Focus, A15 Wide, A10 Focus and A10 Wide—along with a dedicated subwoofer, KS21. ARCS enclosures offer flexible coverage options, achieving a throw of up to 45m, and a maximum output of 144dB. Mounted on a pole, stacked, or flown in a vertical or horizontal line source array, the ARCS family comprises modular, plug-and-play capability. This solution, with configurable directivity, scales with the needs of the event and venue.

L-Acoustics www.l-acoustics.com

Key Digital’s KD-DA2x4G

L-Acoustics’ ARCS Family

Shure’s TL45

Williams Sound’s FM+ May 2019

Sound & Communications 101

PRODUCTS Sharp’s Commercial Displays

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, has launched 2 lines of 4K Ultra-HD LCD (3,840x2,160 pixel resolution) commercial displays. Sharp’s PN-HM Series includes the PN-HM651 65" class (64 1/2" diagonal), PN-HM751 75" class (74 9/16" diagonal) and PN-HM851 85" class (85 9/16" diagonal) displays. Each provides a brightness of 500 nits, is designed for 24/7 environments and is built for a range of signage needs. The PN-HB Series includes the PN-HB651 65" class (64 1/2" diagonal), PN-HB751 75" class (74 9/16" diagonal) and PN-HB851 85" class (85 9/16" diagonal) displays. Each has a brightness of 350 nits, is designed for everyday operation and functions in most well-lit environments. Both lines deliver digital signage with a built-in systemon-a-chip (SoC) controller.

Sharp www.sharpusa.com

Modulo Pi’s Ruggedized Chassis

Modulo Pi’s Modulo Player and Modulo Kinetic are being offered in both a regular chassis and a new ruggedized chassis.

The new enclosure is designed to endure rough conditions.

Its suspended chassis offers higher strength and resistance to extreme handling and transport.

It also features professional connectivity, including ruggedized lockable powerCON and etherCON connectors by Neutrik.

To help facilitate the cabling process, all connectors on the rear panel are labeled and numbered.

Additionally, a new sound card with XLR balanced outputs delivers enhanced sound quality.

Modulo Pi www.modulo-pi.com

Extron’s Meeting Space Collaboration System

Extron’s HC 404 Meeting Space Collaboration System extends control capabilities to Zoom Rooms. It provides a 1-touch user experience for conferencing, collaboration and AV room control. A single interface on the Extron TouchLink Pro Series touchpanel is all users need to control every conferencing and audiovisual function. The HC 404 combines video switching, scaling, signal extension and system control into a transmitter and receiver pair that seamlessly integrates with a variety of room configurations. Common functions, such as display power and source switching, are automated. Users can share projects simply by connecting laptops, tablets or other source devices.

Extron www.extron.com

Extron’s HC 404

Modulo Pi’s Modulo Player

Sharp’s PN-HM Series Display 102 Sound & Communications May 2019

PreSonus’ StudioLive 64S

PreSonus’ Digital Mixer

PreSonus’ StudioLive 64S brings the power of a large production console to small-format digital mixing with 76 mixing channels, 43 buses and 526 simultaneous effects, enabled by the quad-core FLEX DSP engine. 32 individually configurable FlexMixes enable users to create a combination of aux mixes, matrix mixes and subgroups for applications.

StudioLive 64S mixers feature an independent main Mono/Center bus; each channel has a dedicated level control and a Center Divergence control that allows users to control the pan placement in their LCR mix. Powered by the PreSonus FLEX DSP Engine, they feature state-space modeled Fat Channel plugin processing on every input and bus; up to 32 FlexMix buses that can be individually configured as Aux, Matrix or Subgroup buses; and flexible digital patching. All models deliver 128-channel (64x64) USB recording, plus multi-track SD recording and 128-channel AVB networking.

PreSonus www.presonus.com

PRODUCTS Analog Way’s Media Servers

Analog Way’s Picturall Quad Compact and Picturall Twin Compact feature the latest software v2.7 for the range of Analog Way Picturall media servers. This version adds support for the HAP video codec family and introduces a highperformance proprietary video codec named AWX, specifically designed to offer optimized playback for high-resolution and bit-rate content for multiscreen and large-scale LED wall applications. The Picturall Quad Compact offers 4 4K@60Hz 10-bit outputs and can play back up to 12 layers of full HD or 3 layers of 4K@60Hz video with the new AWX codec. Designed for mediumsized events and installations, Picturall Twin Compact is a 4K media server with 2 4K@60Hz 10-bit outputs, delivering a playback performance of up to 8 layers of full HD or 2 layers of 4K@60Hz video with the new AWX codec.

Analog Way www.analogway.com

Neutrik’s Fiber Optic Connectors

Neutrik’s opticalCON DRAGONFLY Fiber Optic Camera Connector Series offers lens technology that ensures robust, reliable connectivity. DRAGONFLY is based on Neutrik’s patented XB2 Technology. Its fusion splice high-performance lens transmits UHD 4K and 8K signals with very low loss, as the signal surface of the XB2 lens is 322 times larger than physical contact surfaces.

The DRAGONFLY also offers robust connectivity against vibration, thus having low potential for damage. It is field serviceable and functions reliably even at extreme temperature fluctuations. Its hybrid connection transmits both power and data over a single connection with low maintenance intervals. With its reliable push/pull locking mechanism, IP68 rated dust and waterproof rating in mated condition, and proven anti-kink boot design, DRAGONFLY offers a life of 10,000 mating cycles.

Neutrik www.neutrik.com

Matrox Video’s GbE Cards

Matrox Video’s DSX LE5 Q25 and DSX LE5 D25 are the newest additions to the SMPTE ST 2110 25 GbE network interface controller (NIC) card family. Based on the Matrox X.mio5 Q25 NIC card, these SMPTE ST 2110 NIC cards simplify the transition from multi-channel SDI workflows to multi-channel IP workflows by delivering up to 4 4K IP video inputs and outputs over 25GbE networks. Broadcast OEMs can choose from a variety of options to design 4K/HD-enabled broadcast graphics systems, channelin-a-box systems, video servers and other high-density, PC-based video equipment. Featuring native SMPTE ST 2110 4K support, the Matrox DSX LE5 Q25 network adapter provides unprecedented multi-channel IP video I/O of up to 4 4K/UHDp60, 16 1080p60, 32 HD or any equivalent combination of flows over 2 25GbE links with SMPTE ST 2022-7 redundancy.

The Matrox DSX LE5 D25 receives and transmits 2 4K/UHDp60, 8 1080p60, 16 HD or any equivalent combination of flows over 1 25GbE link with SMPTE ST 20227 redundancy.

Matrox Video www.matrox.com/video

Bose Professional’s Sound Processors

Bose Professional is shipping 4 ControlSpace engineered sound processors: ESP-880A, ESP-880AD, ESP-1240A and ESP-1240AD (the “A” designation indicates Bose AmpLink connectivity, and the “AD” designation indicates both AmpLink and Dante connectivity). These openarchitecture DSPs offer enhanced flexibility for a variety of applications. They feature analog audio I/O—mic and line-level—and a Bose AmpLink output to send digital audio to AmpLink-equipped Bose amps. Engineered for precise performance, each includes advanced signal processing with 48kHz/24-bit audio conversion, low-latency and ultra-low noise operation. In addition, the ESP880AD and ESP-1240AD feature integrated Dante audio networking, as well as a front-panel RJ-45 Ethernet connection for localized configuration and monitoring.

ControlSpace ESP processors can be configured using ControlSpace Designer software and its signal-processing modules.

Each processor also supports integration with industry-standard control systems, such as Crestron and AMX. Bose Professional pro.bose.com

Neutrik’s opticalCON DRAGONFLY

Matrox Video’s DSX LE5 GbE Cards

Bose Professional’s ControlSpace Series

Analog Way’s Picturall Twin Compact and Picturall Quad Compact May 2019

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PRODUCTS Yamaha’s Video Sound Bar

Yamaha’s CS-700 SIP Video Sound Collaboration System integrates PBX and UC applications, enabling customers to bridge telephone calls and web conferences, achieve high-quality audio from all communication channels, address video and collaboration requirements, and streamline organizational UC strategies. The Video Sound Bar family features an adaptive beamforming microphone array for perfectly captured conversation, 4 Yamaha speaker elements to provide audio intelligibility and a wide-angle HD camera. The CS-700 SIP model introduces VoIP capability to the family, with built-in connections for VoIP and USB for UC applications. Users not only achieve clear conferencing audio and video, they can also bridge VoIP and USB calls together directly from the device. This permits organizations to support both types of communication from a single wall-mounted unit.

Yamaha Unified Communications uc.yamaha.com

VITEC’s Encoding Blade

VITEC’s MGES-7000 4K/UHD/ HD HEVC and H.264 8-input IPTV encoding blade offers real-time hardware encoding of 4 4Kp60 or 8 3G/HD/SD input ports for live sources of SDI, HDMI or IP (SMPTE ST 2110) video with advanced features such as secondary channel, integrated resolution and frame-rate scaling, AES 256/128-bit encryption and low-latency mode. With the increased density of blade-server configurations, the multi-channel blade encoder suits a variety of applications and any installations with high-quality, low-latency IPTV distribution demands or that require support for legacy H.264 players. Using hardwarebased encoding chips supporting 4:2:2/4:2:0 10-bit and 8-bit H.264 and HEVC codecs, it can support any application demand while providing support for secondary video streams up to 1080p60 for each input. All streams can be managed with an easily configured web UI. VITEC www.vitec.com

NEC’s Analytics Learning Platform Update

NEC announced the evolution of its business intelligence analytics platform for retailers, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver real-time content and data measurement. The NEC Analytics Learning Platform (ALP) Pro optimizes message delivery with automated content creation and recommendations for targeted customers using AI-based analytics, enabling retailers to customize their content based on age, gender, events and weather. ALP Pro creates and recommends content automatically for targeted segment shoppers by analyzing retailers’ merchandise photos and videos. As a complete platform, NEC ALP Pro consists of hardware, software, cloud services, managed services and big data analytics—as well as consulting, customized software, content creation, installation and 24/7 support.

Locally in-store, the platform consists of an edge-computing appliance, cameras and sensors. The system is designed with full API integration into key digital signage content management systems (CMS), allowing it to deliver and trigger content onto different media player platforms. The triggered content is then displayed on NEC Display large- or small-format displays. ALP Pro will be available beginning in July.

NEC www.necdisplay.com

Christie’s Laser Projectors

Christie’s DS Series is a trio of 3LCD laser projectors with ISO lumens ranging from 7,500 to 9,000. The LWU755-DS, LHD878DS and LWU900-DS projectors feature 4,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 360° orientation for flexible installation, comprehensive I/O options including HDBaseT, low maintenance and up to 50,000 hours of operation. The LWU900DS and LHD878-DS accept 4K@60Hz signals, have built-in edge blending and warping, and feature a low-power mode for up to 50,000 hours of operation.

The LWU755-DS includes built-in edge blending and warping, plus advanced color management. Small, light and featuring omnidirectional capabilities, all 3 projectors can be installed in tight spaces. All 3 models provide integration with control systems such as AMX and Crestron, and are equipped with LiveViewer so users can share audio and video content directly from their computer or laptop to the projector via the LAN or wirelessly.

Christie www.christiedigital.com

VITEC’s MGES-7000

Christie’s DS Series Projector

NEC’s ALP Pro 104 Sound & Communications May 2019

Yamaha’s CS-700

PRODUCTS Hall Research’s Single-Cable Solution

Hall Research’s U3CAT6 is a single-cable solution for extending SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Gen1 at distances of up to 328' over a Cat6a cable. Virtually all USB 3.1, 2.0 and 1.1 devices are supported, making it suitable for environments that utilize a variety of equipment: 4K videoconferencing cameras, flash drives, docking stations, mice, keyboards, interactive displays, whiteboards or any other USB device. An additional 100/1000BASE-T Ethernet extension port provides remote network access alongside 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports at the receiver. The U3CAT6 supports data rates up to 5Gb/s for USB 3.1 devices, and it’s 100% plug and play. No software drivers are needed for Windows, Linux, Chrome OS or macOS. Hall Research www.hallresearch.com

Chief’s FCASCA, FCAVCA

tvONE’s CORIOmaster Enhancements

Chief’s Column Adapter Accessories

Chief has introduced column adapter accessories to make it possible to add displays to I-beams, box-beams, trusses, and a variety of column shapes and sizes. They’re for use with Fusion, Fusion Modular and Thinstall Swing-Arm mounts. Integrators were looking for a different way to add flat panels to a variety of columns. These structures are usually appealing opportunities for signage near paths of travel in commercial buildings, stadiums and other large venues. The FCASCA wraps around round, concrete structural columns, and it can be cut to size in the field, which means you don’t have to know the exact dimensions of the column. The FCAVCA works with I-beams, box-beams and other various column shapes. Both solutions support 200lb. in portrait and landscape orientations.

Chief www.legrandav.com/products/ chief/accessories/display/ miscellaneous/column_mount_ adapters

Rose Electronics’ VideoSplitter

Rose Electronics has released the VideoSplitter HDMI HDBaseT 1x4.

It distributes and extends 1 HDMI 2.0 source signal, along with IR and RS232, to 4 displays over Catx cable. Transmission of 4K60 video signals is supported up to 131' and 1080p video signals up to 197'.

There is also 1 HDMI output to monitor locally or cascade with up to 4 additional splitters. Receivers are required near the displays, and they’re powered from the splitter using PoH. The product is suitable for professional video display, such as exhibition demonstrations, training seminars, meetingroom presentations, auditoriums, educational environments, digital signage, retail outlets and other locations. Features include HDCP compatibility, power-over-Catx cable, diagnostic LEDs, easy EDID dip switch setup, transparent audio transmission, display blanking and EDID management via serial control, and others.

Rose Electronics www.rose.com

tvONE’s Videowall Processor Enhancements

tvONE has launched enhancements to the CORIOmaster (4RU), CORIOmaster mini (1RU) and CORIOmaster micro (0.5RU) videowall processors. The enhancements include a secure communication suite with full REST API and multi-user control. Other improvements include an HDMI 4-port output module (CM-HDMI-SC-4OUT), audio support for the CORIOmaster and CORIOmaster mini for embedded audio, and a dedicated audio module (CM-AUD-2IN4OUT). The HDMI 4-port output upgrades your C3-540 CORIOmaster to up to 56 outputs to create massive videowalls, projector edge blends and LED installations. The embedded audio support and audio module ensure the CORIOmaster is suitable when you need both video and audio in an installation.

The IP streaming module now accepts both H.264 and H.265 (HEVC) for higher quality and increased bandwidth performance; a low-latency mode is included. tvONE www.tvone.com

Hall Research’s U3CAT6

Rose Electronics’ VideoSplitter HDMI HDBaseT 1x4 May 2019

Sound & Communications 105

SOFTWARE

Information about the latest software releases, apps, online tools, and software and firmware updates.

Send details, with supporting graphic, if available, to dferrisi@testa.com.

Compiled by Amanda Mullen

L-Acoustics’ Soundvision 3.1.0 software

Yamaha’s TF Series mixers

Yamaha’s Firmware Update

Yamaha’s TF Series digital mixers gain increased control and versatility with the company’s firmware update version 4.0. The update adds a Selected Channel View that provides access to the main parameters for the currently selected input channel in a single display. Combined with the mixer’s Touch & Turn Knob, this view provides more intuitive operation.

Version 4.0 also adds a scene fade time function that offers flexibility for scene management, particularly in theatrical applications. Support for DZR-D and DXS-XLF-D Series speakers has been expanded with speaker amp mute control directly from the mixer display. Yamaha has also created a selection of new QuickPro Presets for a variety of microphones, in-ear monitors and speakers.

Yamaha usa.yamaha.com

MEDIA

L-Acoustics’ Software Update

L-Acoustics’ Soundvision 3.1.0 features advanced autosolver tools to simplify and accelerate system optimization from system design to operation. Soundvision 3.1.0 adds 2 robust automated features to streamline the system-design process: Autosplay and Autofilter. Autosplay uses algorithms to calculate mechanical optimization based on the proposed configuration and design objectives defined by the systems engineer.

The Autosplay interface proposes a 2-click path to inter-element angle optimization via the Init and Optimize buttons. The Init function quickly sets angles to provide an instant view of coverage and output of the selected source, allowing the user to assess whether or not sound design objectives for each source can be met with the chosen configuration. The Optimize function executes a more refined numerical qualitative analysis with a deeper focus on improving sonic performance, including SPL coverage and wavefront integrity.

L-Acoustics www.l-acoustics.com

The latest literature, whitepapers, new or updated websites, course materials, webinars, training videos, podcasts, online resources and more.

If you can read it, watch it or listen to it, you’ll find it here! Send details, with photos, if available, to dferrisi@testa.com.

Compiled by Amanda Mullen

NSCA Education Foundation’s career portal

NSCA Education Foundation’s Career Portal

The NSCA Education Foundation’s career portal at www.igniteyourcareer. org is an interface for students who want to explore the communications industry, as well as related organizations that wish to network with these students. Defining the industry and revealing the career opportunities available, the site shows off technology projects through graphics, images and videos. The portal also features a free job board where NSCA members can post unlimited open positions for students. Integrators and manufacturers can also find additional resources on the website, including mentorship and internship toolkits and best practice guidelines, scholarship information and student success stories. An Industry/Educator Ambassador Locator, which pinpoints organizations that participate in Ignite and education institutions that offer relevant industry degrees, can also be found on the portal.

NSCA Education Foundation www.nsca.org/nsca-education-foundation 106 Sound & Communications May 2019

Ashly Audio’s website

Ashly Audio’s Website

Ashly Audio launched a website intended to signal a new direction for the company as a whole. The site focuses on crisp design, intuitive navigation and an increase in usable content, including direct support options and documentation to solution-based application features. The website was built for usability coupled with the highest level of support possible.

One site feature that improves Ashly’s customer interactions is the ability to interact with the company’s “Tech Support Gurus.” Visitors can speak with support team members and be assured they will receive follow-up interactions regarding their concerns. Visitors can also easily browse through Ashly software and products, explore integration solutions and connect with sales teams directly.

Ashly Audio www.ashly.com

THE CENTERSTAGE AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO SOUND & COMMUNICATIONS

Lowell ES Line of In-Ceiling Speakers Expands

Shure

Lowell expanded their containerized in-ceiling speaker line with four new models. The ES Series, known for its smooth sound, clear transmission, and quick-installation features, will add a 5-1/4 inch coaxial driver, eight inch subwoofer, eight inch coaxial driver, and eight inch coaxial compression driver to the line. All eight inch models feature a transformer with 120W tap for maximum power. Providing full frequency response for music and excellent intelligibility for speech, ES Series speakers are well suited to a wide variety of commercial, retail, industrial, institutional, and residential applications. The factory-mounted enclosure, with reversible mounting dogs and press-fit grille with scrim and pull-tool, aid fast installation in drywall, wood, and tile ceilings.

The new speaker models include—eight inch coaxial driver Model ES-82T, eight inch coaxial compression driver Model ES-82CDT, eight inch subwoofer Model ES-8TSUB, and 5-1/4 inch coaxial driver Model ES-52T. Shipping is set to begin this summer.

WEB ADDRESS: www.lowellmfg.com

Designer System Configuration Software for Conferencing Workflow Make conferencing workflow effortless. Bring your users together across a campus or an entire business. Shure Designer System Configuration Software makes implementation of Shure Networked Systems products faster, simpler and more intuitive. With the details managed, it becomes a seamless experience. This free software lets you design remotely and collaborate effectively.

If the AV professional is working offsite, Designer gives them the flexibility to pre-set room audio coverage layouts and route networked audio connections between Shure devices from anywhere in the world. Templates can be deployed and adjusted on the fly, making onsite installation and project management simple.

WEB ADDRESS: www.shure.com/designer

Absen Aries Series 1.5mm NPP Fine Pitch LED Display Absen’s new Aries Series 1.5mm is the company’s first NPP display that has been specially designed to meet the growing demand for sub-2mm fine pitch LED in rental staging. Supporting HDR10 (high-dynamic-range) standard, the AX 1.5mm allows for a much broader range of colours, while being road-rugged thanks to its corner edge protection. In addition, the AX 1.5 is also ideal for fixed installations due to its 27.5” cabinet size, achieving a 16:9-aspect-ratio. This makes it easy to replace existing LCD video walls as well as supporting full front service to meet the needs of AV system integrators for fixed installs. Featuring the latest in Integrated Matrix Device (IMD) and Common Cathode (CC) technologies, the new Aries Series (AX 1.5mm) provides five times the strength as traditional LED screens whilst consuming 20% less power. By combining the two technologies in an innovative way, Absen has further reduced the pixel pitch of its LED screens whilst ensuring maximum durability.

WEB ADDRESS: www.usabsen.com/mobile-fixed-indoor-aries-series

On-Stage Stands ACT5000 Audio Console Tilter The all-aluminum, made-in-America ACT5000 tilts down for back-saving, lightning-fast set up, all while supporting up to one half ton of the A/V consoles on which your show depends. Lightweight, collapsible and easily transported, you can trust the ACT5000 to save time, space and sweat, so you can focus on the mix.

WEB ADDRESS: tmppro.com/products/view/13496

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THE CENTERSTAGE AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO SOUND & COMMUNICATIONS

Peerless-AV SmartMount® Motorized Height Adjustable Flat Panel Cart

Arista

Designed specifically for education settings, Peerless-AV’s SmartMount® Motorized Height Adjustable Flat Panel Cart (SR598ML3E) seamlessly interacts with touch-enabled technology, allowing students and teachers to focus on the content on display while creating a collaborative learning environment.

The SR598ML3E is ADA-compliant, providing display height adjustment up to 25.6» with the touch of a button. Offering top safety features, the SR598ML3E is UL962/1678 listed and features a safety limit function, which automatically reverses direction when a collision is detected in an upward, downward, or lateral force. The SR598ML3E offers multiple accessories, including a laptop tray, video conferencing shelf, six-outlet surge protector, PC mounting plate, and power cord manager. Focusing on ease of use, the SR598ML3E features 4» casters for rigidity and stability, and a pre-assembled design with no wiring required – making the installation process seamless.

WEB ADDRESS: www.peerless-av.com/en-us/professional/products/ SR598ML3E

The Stealth Audio Workstation is the ideal solution for application environments that require an absolutely quiet computer to perform audio recording, editing, and related music / audio creation tasks. It is equipped with an Intel i7-8700 six-core processor to provide plenty of CPU power to record musicians, compose film music, work with sound effects for TV or film, and play virtual instruments. Additionally, the system is populated with 64GB DDR4 memory that enables one to load large sample libraries. The system also has the option of two 1TB HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Disk) that provides enough storage space to record live instruments or save a library of sample-based plug-ins. It supports a 4K display or up to three HD displays, which can be useful when running music software such as Ableton, Cubase, Pro Tools, or Sonar.

WEB ADDRESS: www.aristaproav.com

On-Stage

RTS

Introducing the Stealth Audio Workstation

BC2000 Stereo Bluetooth Converter

ODIN: The IP Intercom That Works For You

Free up channels and deliver reliable, pairable Bluetooth V4.0 directly to your mixer or powered speaker with the On-Stage BC2000 Bluetooth Stereo Converter. Complete with 2 stereo Bluetooth receivers and USB charging cables, the super sensitive (-80dBm+/-0.1%BER) and all but noiseless (S/N 75dB) 3.7V lithium-ion battery-powered BC2000 delivers the zero-sum convenience of traditional converters with true stereo fidelity for up to 10 hours of 30’ wireless transmission.

WEB ADDRESS: on-stage.com/products/view/14029

The next-generation intercom matrix from RTS, ODIN provides an unprecedented combination of flexibility, scalability and full-IP performance – all in a compact single rack unit package. Where previous-generation digital matrix products were significantly larger and more costly to own and operate, ODIN’s feature set and form factor are designed to make a professional matrix solution more accessible and easier to use than ever before, opening up the benefits of IP-based communications for wide range of new markets and users of all levels. ODIN makes system expansion easy – extend from 16 up to 128 ports in a single unit, or connect eight units for 1024 ports. ODIN also offers the broadest interoperability with future, current and legacy RTS products – it supports Dante-compatible OMNEO IP technology and it allows seamless connectivity between analog two-wire, four-wire and digital devices.

WEB ADDRESS: www.rtsintercoms.com/odin

108 Sound & Communications May 2019

THE CENTERSTAGE AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO SOUND & COMMUNICATIONS

Maxell MP-WU5603 3LCD Laser Projector The MP-WU5603 is the first 3LCD Laser Projector under the Maxell brand.

The new laser phosphor light source offers up to 50,000 hours (Long Life 2 Mode) operation time and is virtually maintenance free, there is no lamp to replace providing a dramatic reduction in total cost of ownership. Ideal for digital signage applications, as well as a perfect choice for auditoriums, lecture halls, large classrooms, conference rooms and museums. Plus, 6,000 ANSI lumens brightness and 1,500,000 : 1 contrast ratio produces a bright display with outstanding image clarity. Additionally a suite of advanced features includes High Dynamic Contrast Range (HDCR2), 2 HDMI ports, and Maxell’s original technology Accentualizer. With all Maxell projectors, you can expect vibrant image quality, cost-efficient operation, and long-lasting reliability. The Maxell MP-WU5603 is backed by an industry leading 5-year warranty and our world-class service programs.

WEB ADDRESS: maxellproav.com/products/mp-wu5603-laser-projector

Listen Technologies Listen EVERYWHERE Audio Streaming Directly To Smartphones Listen EVERYWHERE offers high-quality audio streaming directly to smartphones, enabling exceptional personal listening experiences in any venue. The professional-grade system with proprietary Listen Technologies hardware is easy to add to a venue’s existing wireless network and can accommodate thousands of users and over 50 channels. The app can be customized to promote a venue’s brand and further enhance the user experience. Venues can customize the intro ad, upload banners, coupons and special promotions as well as links to menus, class notes, meeting agendas and other content.

Listen EVERYWHERE is an affordable, low-latency solution that is ideal for houses of worship, classroom settings, multi-lingual transmission, hospitality, and more. The product also can be used in combination with other Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) systems such as ListenRF, ListenIR or ListenLOOP for assistive listening.

WEB ADDRESS: www.listentech.com/assistive-listening/listen-everywhere

Pliant Technologies DiGiCo 4REA4: Routing, Processing and Mix Control Via a Network of Local I/O Boxes Designed to expand DiGiCo’s live performance reach for multi-area venues and stages, the new 4REA4 installed audio solution combines a robust processing engine, generous number of connectivity options and powerful control software to deliver routing, processing and mix control via a network of local I/O boxes. The 4REA4 processing engine rack features four dedicated mix areas, or zones, each with its own stereo master output, CGs and allocated FX. With an available 128 input channels and 48 buss output processing strips, users can independently allocate processing to whichever area as required.

Managing the mixing and routing of each individual local performance area are a new range of premium designed hardware control panels (ACONTROL1, ACONTROL8) and external I/O units (A168 STAGE, A164 WALL) that interface with 4REA4 to ensure a premium 96kHz audio experience across the largest and most-demanding performance environments.

WEB ADDRESS: www.DiGiCo.biz

CrewCom Full Featured Wireless Intercom System Pliant Technologies’ innovative professional wireless intercom system, CrewCom, is based on a new technology platform that offers the industry’s highest user counts and features excellent voice quality, fully-featured full-duplex radio packs, multiple simultaneous frequency bands, as well as a host of other exceptional features. For the small system/UHF replacement market, CrewCom offers the easiest system deployment, along with the most user friendly radio pack on the market. Even basic CrewCom systems offer full features at a very competitive price. CrewCom is also uniquely available in 900MHz and provides outstanding performance in tough production environments. The system’s reliability, unprecedented scalability, and unparalleled range have been proven in use in award shows, broadcast environments, and live events. CrewCom wireless products provide the ability to easily put global-friendly, dependable RF coverage where needed, with a consistent user interface throughout.

WEB ADDRESS: www.plianttechnologies.com E-MAIL: sales@plianttechnologies.com

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WHAT WOULD YOU DO?: DO-IT-YOURSELF AV SYSTEMS: THEN WHAT WILL WE DO? (continued from page 26) which they can order online and get the equipment they need delivered to their door.

Ouch! If this continues, what will be left? Our most profitable area is labor. If the clients do the labor themselves,

what will we do for profits?

That’s the million-dollar question for integrators.

I plan to inter view Geoff and other embedded audiovisual folks. I will seek to uncover the histor y of, and

backstor y for, how their positions came to be. I’ll also ask about their experiences with integrators to see if I can identify a pattern. Maybe some research will help us turn this trend around…be-

fore it’s too late!

If you have any thoughts or direct experiences, or if you would consider being inter viewed for this series, please contact me by emailing dkleeger@testa.com.

AVIXA POV: SETTING THE STAGE, DELIVERING THE EXPERIENCE: TRACKING COMMERCIAL AV’S ROLE IN LIVE PERFORMANCES (continued from page 28) Many integrators would love this coveted seat at the table, which has clear impacts on project scopes and budgets.

The in-sourcing ultimately makes some sense logically.

If an exceptional experience is the desired outcome, then production companies are clearly voting with their dollars for more certainty in those outcomes. Owning equipment and having staff can be seen as a way to tr y to control for unknowns and be in a better position to guarantee a successful show.

The flaw is in the changing

nature of technology and the complexities of effective utilization, making it hard for a production company to keep its hardware and supporting skills current. This is the strength of the provider community.

In the end, those strengths, coupled with flexibility and a focus on excellence, will keep providers relevant in the face of more in-sourcing.

Plus, the trend toward ownership ultimately doesn’t mean producers aren’t seeking solutions; rather, it just means the nature of those solutions

is changing. Commercial AV providers are already adapting. According to inter views with the provider community, many that ser ve the performance space are using different words to describe themselves. Instead of saying they are strictly live-events firms, with the implication being that they follow a leasing model, they are listing themselves as AV integrators first.

Although labeling is a subtlety, it also indicates the firm’s focus and sends a message to the market about the

skills it offers. Using an integrator label can provide a different, and perhaps welcome, message to a performance producer who is looking for more permanent solutions.

Whatever the case, as we continue to say here at AVIXA, winning the business continues to be centered on having a diversity of offerings. With that, happy prospecting, and wishing you many successes whatever your approach to the live-performance market.

To learn more about MOAR Live Per formance, visit www.avixa.org/moar.

INDUSTRY POV: COLLABORATIVE LEARNING: A NEW FRONTIER IN CLASSROOMS AND BEYOND

INDUSTRY POV: 25V SYSTEMS

(continued from page 30) considerations that will guide an integrator toward a technology selection are as follows: 1. Will the technology allow instructors and students to connect wirelessly, and can it be seamlessly incorporated into the facility’s current environment? Network infrastructure must be considered to make sure schools can handle the new technology.

Administrators must ensure new deployments support individual device usage, and the right network infrastructure must be in place to ensure connectivity throughout the facility. Many instructors now use web-based teaching, making it critical for administrators to choose technology that supports access to web

(continued from page 40) speakers to perform beyond their capabilities only results in unintended impedance issues. Therefore, bandwidth limiting the audio to match the speakers is a critical consideration.

Clipping at the amplifier output and into an inductive load, which is what you have in any CVA sound system, is devastating for the amplifier. The best you can hope for is for the amplifier to initiate some form of protection shutdown—but still, on occasion, damage can occur. Thus, it should be avoided at all costs. Regardless of the person speaking or the circumstance of the announcement, it is essential that the voice be heard clearly without overdriving

resources.

2. Does the technology facilitate ef fective upgrades when new of ferings are made available? Most computing devices and technologies will update roughly ever y 12 months, and deploying software-agnostic collaboration tools that will remain compatible with upgraded devices and networks will protect districts from costly overhauls down the road.

As schools rapidly change to incorporate new technology, and as digital tools increasingly become the norm for how students learn, the traditional classroom continues to evolve. For instance, short-throw projectors have replaced the traditional overhead projector, digital displays

110 Sound & Communications May 2019

or whiteboards are taking on the role of the chalkboard, and bring your own device (BYOD) is replacing pens and paper. Teachers now centralize lesson planning around technology to engage students. Even as collaboration technology advances the learning experience tenfold, it remains critical to understand what is best for the end user in each specific situation.

Working with customers to understand their needs, as well as how they intend to utilize the technology, is the first step; however, it’s important to be sure that school administrators are considering the many aspects that come into play when deciding to invest in technology on which they will be relying for years.

THE CENTERSTAGE AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO SOUND & COMMUNICATIONS

G&D North America Anchor Audio

ControlCenter-IP For Perfect Flexibility And Scalability

For crowds of 500 to 5,000+, the Anchor Audio sound and PA systems are sure to be a perfect fit to all of your school or university’s sound amplification needs. These simple, durable systems can be easily transported from inside of a gym to outdoors on the field and set up in seconds. Built-in rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries operate up to eight hours on a single charge and allow a completely wire free experience. With the ability to connect up to four wireless microphones, multiple students and/or faculty may simultaneously speak into their individual microphones, without the inconvenience of a connecting cable. During your largest school events and activities, connect an unlimited number of wireless companion speakers to expand your sound coverage.

WEB ADDRESS: Anchoraudio.com/SoundComm E-MAIL: sales@anchoraudio.com

The matrix switch ControlCenter-IP enables distributed switching of computer signals via standard IP-based networks. This way, even the largest IT installations of AV applications can be implemented via IP access. Transmission takes place compressed, with a data transmission rate of 1 Gbit/s per line.

The new system for KVM-over-IP™ extends real 4K over IP and ensures pixel-perfect video transmission for DisplayPort 1.2 signals. Resolutions up to 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz are supported. In addition to solutions for DP 1.2, the company also offers modules for DVI single and dual link as well as DP 1.1. The ControlCenter-IP combines a maximum of flexibility, scalability and signal diversity with versatile functionalities, so any given project needs can be accommodated in a cost-effective way. The system can offer further flexibility as it can share network structures and breaks the boundaries of dedicated cabling.

WEB ADDRESS: www.gd-northamerica.com

IDK America

ENCO Systems

Bridge between IP-NINJAR and Dante Audio Network

enCaption: Automatically Generate Captions and Time-Stamped Transcripts

Portable Sound & PA Systems

IDK is pleased to introduce a new IP-NINJAR / Dante Audio Bridge, the latest AV over IP product, model: NJR-AB08DAN. The Bridge transcodes audio signaling directly between the IP-NINJAR (SDVoE) and Dante protocol environments. Audio signal transport is enabled from NJR transmitters to Dante devices and from Dante device to NJR receivers. The new IP-NINJAR Bridge eliminates third party converters and processors. This enhances system design flexibility while streamlining architecture, eliminating interoperability guesswork and optimizing reliability. Each NJR-AB08DAN can receive up to four (4) audio streams from IP-NINJAR transmitters outputting up to eight (8) channels in Dante protocol. Additionally, each bridge can accept up to 8-channel audio from Dante sources, outputting IP-NINJAR (SDVoE) protocol in up to four (4) audio streams. This feature enables Dante audio embedding on HDMI signals and de-embedding through analog audio outputs at IP-NINJAR receivers.

WEB ADDRESS: www.idkav.com

enCaption is a patented totally automated appliance that can automatically generate captions and time-stamped transcripts. Using enCaption, content creators can provide real-time, live captioning to their hearing-impaired audience any time, without any advance notice and without the high costs of live captioners or signers. enCaption uses ENCO’s latest enhanced speaker independent deep neural network-based speech recognition engine to closely inspect and transcribe your audio in near real-time. enCaption offers a robust open captioning solution for live presentations, seminars, lectures and sermons.

Its file-based transcription allows you to make any recorded audio instantly searchable by keyword, create highly accurate transcripts without the need for a stenographer, and process large amounts of previously recorded content quickly, easily, and affordably. Don’t wait (or pay) for a live captioner. With enCaption, you’re ready now. Available in 28 languages.

WEB ADDRESS: www.enco.com/encaption E-MAIL: sales@enco.com

May 2019

Sound & Communications 111

the system.

This article has dug into some technical aspects of working with 25V. But don’t fret if the advice seems daunting. If you are an integrator, you should seek a full-line professional audio manufacturing partner that has the consoles, DSP systems,

amplifiers and expertise for properly managing a mixed CVA environment.

You can also consider an alternative path—namely, moving toward networked audio systems. By integrating an IPbased system, with audio distributed on Ethernet cabling, many of the signal-quality and

distance complexities of CVA solutions are eliminated. That said, you must work with the right manufacturer to ensure the offering is both affordable and effective for the client.

Finally, if you are a school administrator, reach out to an integrator and make sure the company approaches your

facility with a collaborative attitude. A manufacturer that provides the right solutions and the correct support, combined with an integrator that is working toward a long-term partnership with its clients, is a winner for schools of all sizes, types and uses.

INDUSTRY POV: EDUCATION REVOLUTION: TODAY’S AV TECHNOLOGY OFFERS MAJOR BENEFITS FOR IMPROVING EDUCATION (continued from page 42) mediums, one has to realize that colleges and universities must communicate with people both on and off campus constantly. Students and teachers expect and demand that information will come to them, where they are, immediately, rather than them having to go to it. That is the genesis of this new wave of digital deployment, and it has

expanded the view of what communication solutions are.

Higher-education institutions are leading the way because they are leveraging the efficiency with which information can be spread by using digital mediums.

The education market is a critically important one for the commercial AV industr y. It’s also a market that’s conscious

of price, performance and value when it comes to any technology product. Today’s AV technology offers major benefits for improving education outcomes. Looking at the spectrum of what is being deployed—digital displays, AI, wireless systems, quality mounting solutions, etc.— each can have a significant impact on ROI.

Fulfilling the unique needs of the education market requires a holistic approach.

When integrated properly, these disparate system components can work together to advance learning and teaching, inspire students, preser ve budgets and enhance education at all levels.

SOUND ADVICE: JUGGERNAUTS & LOW LOADERS

AVENT HORIZON: NOT YOUR FATHER’S NAB

(continued from page 17) the loadings are around 63W to 66W. Another way of thinking about these measurements is to consider them as being a reverse engineering of the design process, and it is rare to be able to do this. When designing a system, all that we would normally know is the potential wattage to be allocated to each loudspeaker.

From this we can calculate the theoretical load to be expected (e.g., 15W at 100V = 666Ω, or 333Ω at 70V). Rarely do we see the actual loudspeaker impedance plot, and, even if this is available, few ever consider the implications.

To put this in perspective, and to leave a cliffhanger for next month, I will finish with a set of impedance plots of some typical transformer-driven PA loudspeakers. Indeed, several of them are the units comprising the circuits described above. For convenience, I

(continued from page 116) measured them at their 15W tapping. Figure 4 shows the result. (Note the straight, solid, light-blue line is the theoretical (expected) load.)

From Figure 4, it can be readily seen that, at low frequencies, all of the loudspeakers draw more power (i.e., have a lower impedance) than they should or are expected to. The red cur ve of SP2 indicates that this unit takes more power than expected over its entire working range—apart from in its resonance region at around 250Hz. The above measurements and data clearly show that PA and AV systems often load amplifier circuits by significantly more than might be expected from reading the datasheets.

Next month, I will consider some further as aspects of this and the implications for sound system design. Who said that designing sound systems was easy?

112 Sound & Communications May 2019

operational expenditure (OpEx) versus capital expenditure (CapEx) argument. Companies across all industries are more focused on cutting operating expenses these days than they are on making capital expenditures— hence, the steady move to generic, powerful computer and ser ver platforms for recording, playout and archiving of content. Hand-in-hand with that are software programs for scheduling, targeted ad insertion, audience tracking and performance monitoring.

One direct consequence of this trend is smaller booths at trade shows. When you’re mostly selling software, you don’t need a big booth to show it off (notable exceptions being companies like Adobe, Microsoft and Imagine). Only a handful of well-known hardware brands (Canon, JVC, Panasonic, Ikegami, Sony, ARRI, Fuji, etc.)

still plant big tents in the Las Vegas Convention Center, and even those companies have cut back on their square footage in recent years.

A secondar y consequence is declining show attendance.

Two years ago, NAB’s official head count was announced at about 103,400. This year, in the midst of a booming economy, attendance was just over 91,400, representing a two-year decline of 11.6 percent, or 12,000 visitors.

(That’s about 28 percent of the attendance at InfoComm last year.) The fact is, it’s not always necessar y to travel to Las Vegas NV anymore to see and test drive the latest gear, particularly software. And NAB’s second, smaller show in New York NY in the fall might also be having an effect on attendance.

Still, there were plenty of intriguing products to be found if you looked hard enough.

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Winsted Ergonomic Impulse Dual Sit/Stand Consoles

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There were lots of artificial intelligence (AI) exhibits, using a machine learning term to describe ever ything from robotic camera control systems to video scaling engines. One that impressed me, in particular, was demonstrated by Astro to up-convert 2K (1080p) video content to an 8K display, and it used moving fine lines, kaleidoscope patterns and fine text at the source. Another form of AI is the new Versatile Video Codec (VVC), which is being developed as the next step up from the HEVC H.265 codec associated so closely with 4K and ultra-HD video content. It promises a bit-rate reduction of 50 percent over H.265 for equivalent image quality, and it’s currently at 34 percent.

Speaking of ultra HD, there

is no question that 8K has arrived. Several 8K cameras were out for inspection at the show, along with a bunch of large 8K monitors and TVs. Companies were showing 8K signal-transport systems that ranged from bundles of 12G SDI cables to optical fiber.

And the newly founded 8K Association held a day-long series of seminars and panel discussions that covered a wide range of topics—from lenses and codecs, to 8K ser vers and display interfaces, to the challenges of storage and playout.

8K video might not make sense to you right now, but the products are arriving, and there is a growing market for them. One popular topic of discussion between early adopters was the concept of

Movement throughout the day is important to maintaining good health. Winsted’s innovative Impulse Dual Sit/Stand consoles take ergonomics and operator comfort to a whole new level by offering two independently adjustable, ergonomically curved work surfaces. Both work surfaces are controlled by two electric-lift legs and adjust from 30” to 46” high at the touch of a button. The dual work surfaces feature a durable, high-pressure Graphite Nebula laminate with Safeguard Edge. For added versatility, all Impulse consoles come complete with our proprietary Versa-Trak monitor mounting system. Impulse consoles also provide adjustability to meet the needs of each individual operator.

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acquiring footage and mastering in 8K, and then producing 4K and 2K masters for cinema, streaming and broadcast.

A 2K program originally shot in 8K will look more detailed than one captured in 2K, and, as a futureproof archiving format, 8K has a long tail.

Of course, the file sizes and streaming rates for 8K video are stratospheric. As an example, Sharp’s 8C-60A 8K broadcast and production camcorder requires 1TB of storage for ever y 20 minutes of 8K footage recorded, and that’s using the Grass Valley HQX codec to compress video by a ratio of 7:1. The uncompressed streaming rate is about 47GB/s with 7680x4320/p60 4:2:2 10-bit video!

Sharp also brought along its

8K digital SLR (8C-30A) that captures 4320p/30 video and that has already been outfitted with a range of lenses and matte boxes. Astro showed a super-compact 8K camera, with all control function built in, that weighs less than 10lb. and that captures video at 120Hz. Panasonic’s take on ever ything was an “area of interest” camera that captures video at 8K resolution, and that lets you switch and mix between up to four different 2K slices of video simultaneously, from anywhere in the image, using an outboard switcher. Sony, Hitachi, Ikegami, Red, ARRI and Canon are some of the major players in 8K. Let’s turn to the new ATSC 3.0 digital TV broadcast format. Given the paucity May 2019

Sound & Communications 113

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114 Sound & Communications May 2019

of conventional broadcast equipment companies at the show (ironic, given that “NAB” stands for the National Association of Broadcasters), it was refreshing to see support for this new standard that promises more efficient transmission of video content across fewer channels and more platforms. Unlike the current ATSC 1.0 system, version 3.0 is very IP-centric; that means you’ll be able to view it on just about any device of which you can think.

At the show, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), along with a coalition of broadcast station groups, announced a plan to deploy ATSC 3.0 in the 40 largest television markets by the end of next year. That coalition includes heavyweights like Fox Television Stations, NBC Universal, Univision, Sinclair, Nexstar, Pearl TV and America’s Public Television Stations. ATSC 3.0 tests have

already been under way for more than a year in Phoenix AZ, Dallas TX, Baltimore MD and Raleigh NC. One likely implementation of ATSC 3.0 in the home would be a combination receiver/decoder and 802.11ax Wi-Fi router, using smart TV and mobile apps to watch a given channel (or channels).

The Wi-Fi network, not an antenna connected to your TV, now becomes the primar y form of signal distribution. The compression efficiencies in the H.265 codec used in version 3.0 will expand the number of video program streams each station can broadcast, and it will even accommodate 4K video.

What didn’t I see in Vegas? There wasn’t much in the way of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware to check out. VR and AR are still, to me, largely solutions looking for

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problems; their focus seems to be shifting more to consumer technology shows.

As recently as two years ago, there was an enormous VR/AR exhibit area in the North Hall. This year, only a handful of companies were showing VR cameras across all the halls.

The same held true for drone manufacturers, as the South and Central Halls were surprisingly free of “buzzing” and protective netting. (Where’d they all go?) Even the action camera brands like GoPro had smaller and much more subdued booths, free of flashy LED screens, loud music and crowds. By contrast, so-called “international” technology showcase booths from Europe and Asia occupied more space this year than before, especially booths representing manufacturers from South Korea and China. (Shades of CES!) Definitely not your father’s NAB!

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• InfoComm New Product Spotlight: Our annual comprehensive showcase of breaking product debuts for the upcoming show.

Denver • Austin •spaces Houston • Dallas • Contemporary corporate presentation are pulling new• Phoenix AV dynamics from a number of other verticals, including hospitality look •atLas those trends, through the Oklahoma City • and Sanbroadcast.

Antonio We • Tulsa Vegas lens of recent projects Atlanta such as the newly remodeled auditorium • Blackwood, NJ •240-seat Washington, DC at agribusiness Cargill’s headquarters in Minneapolis and The LOT, a boutique theater whose most recent iteration is in the 300,000-square-foot City Center Bishop Ranch, in San Ramon, CA. • University of Northern Colorado campus commons: A report on their upgraded multi-use auditorium.

• Immersing in the Invisible: Balancing art and technology in Broadway sound design.

• IoT: Is this the beginning of the end for purpose-built collaboration devices?

• Managing Dynamic AV Market Changes: The AV integrator today is challenged to internalize this dynamism and deliver systems that are high-performing, effective, secure, scalable and, to some degree, versatile.

• Differentiating With Engaging Digital Signage Technologies: From Bluetooth beaconing to touchscreens, digital signage technology is no longer just a high-end TV where businesses display ads and information. Because of this, it’s important for companies to weed out the solutions that aren’t up to snuff versus those that will “wow” audiences and set them apart in a noisy landscape.

May 2019

Sound & Communications 115

AVENT HORIZON

Not Your Father’s NAB Pete Putman offers his assessment of NAB 2019.

By Pete Putman, CTS ROAM Consulting LLC This was my 25th consecutive NAB Show, and it couldn’t have been more different from the first one I attended back in 1995. That event was a showcase of big booths; expensive hardware with four, five and even six zeros in the price tag; flashy press conferences; and expensive parties. Video was largely standard definition, tape and film were ver y much in use, and non-linear editing systems were pricey boxes with proprietar y codecs and formats.

A quarter-centur y later, hardware is no longer king of the hill; today, software is king. Booths have steadily gotten smaller as companies have consolidated their product offerings, merged or simply gone out of business. Ver y little about today’s NAB Show has to do with broadcasting in the traditional sense; now, it’s all about decentralized content creation and production by anyone and ever yone, using powerful and inexpensive cameras, recording systems, editing and EFX platforms, and cloud storage and playout.

The focus now appears to be on using generic computing platforms to run a wide range of software programs for editing, sound mixing and sweetening, color correction and format conversion for a multitude of distribution platforms. In a way, getting your content on YouTube is more important these days than traditional one-way broadcast, cable or satellite deliver y are. If you have a fast broadband connection, you’re in business!

All of this is being driven by the (continued on page 112) 116 Sound & Communications May 2019

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