Systems Integration Asia October-November 2012

Vol. 12 Issue 1 ~ October - November 2012

O • VISUAL S • LIGHT G • CONTROL CO O SYSTEMS S S S AUDIO MICA (P) 017/04/2012 PPS 1669/08/2013 (022992)

A ‘Genesis’ of technology Integration at Zayed University Take The Kramer Route.

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ProAV getting proactive in the Middle East AVSI meets the Cloud

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Vol. 12 Issue 1 ~ October - November 2012

AUDIO • VISUAL • LIGHT • CONTROL SYSTEMS MICA (P) 017/04/2012 PPS 1669/08/2013 (022992)

A ‘Genesis’ of technology Integration at Zayed University ProAV getting proactive in the Middle East AVSI meets the Cloud

w w w . s y s t e m s i n t e g r a t i o n a s i a . c o m

CONTENTS

Vol. 12 Issue 1 ~ October - November 2012

80 87 08 04 FIRST WORDS

56 Smarting sound and light at BIS auditorium

06 NEWS

60 The science of AV at Jawaharlal Nehru University

22 SOLUTIONS UPDATE

62 L’Oreal India hires V-TECH for the AV setup

EXHIBITION PREVIEW 31 Hospital Build & Infrastructure India 2012

visitors

VTRON

74 Charles Sturt University incorporates REACH System

76 BAP integrates Christian Dior’s new training centre at TaiKoo Place

78 Vega at the helm of an interactive Consultant’s Say 48 Vineet Singh on bringing quality expertise consistently

EXHIBITION REVIEW 32 Integrate 2012 records growth in

73 Hong Kong Phoenix TV chooses

Special Feature 64 Pro AV gets proactive in the Middle

multimedia experience

80 Singapore City Gallery revamped with greater interactivity

TECH TALK 84 HDbaseT – is it the silver bullet?

East

INDIA & MIDDLE EAST COLUMN 41 News

Interview 68 Defining AV distribution as distinct business

Installation 50 A ‘Genesis’ of technology integration at Zayed University

VOICE BOX 87 AVSI meets The Cloud 90 60 years of serving the conferencing and meeting industry

92 Simplifying technology as a mission INSTALLATIONS 70 Media-Go Engineering at the Tamar Development

04

FIRST WORDS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

COVER: Zayed University

I hope we as an AV industry do not go the Apple way. Yes, I know, I am probably putting myself in line to be ridiculed or scowled upon by many of the Apple faithful. However, just like the millions around the world, I waited in anticipation for the iphone 5 as well. What disappoints me is the simple pin change to what is now termed a lightning connector. This means that I will not be able to easily ask my colleagues or wife for their chargers, should I not have mine with me; it would also mean that all the other wonderful gadgets that we have to work around with our iphones will not work with the new version. And, of course, there is already a secondary market out there, gleefully pushing the adapter that will help us still use our gadgets but, let’s be honest, what a pain!

The AV field, I believe, is going the other way ensuring that solutions sold to customers are future proof and that is the way it should be. I hope we will continue to keep at it because it’s only going to earn the industry even more customers.

Ooh and I can’t wait until AVB and HDBaseT connectivity becomes the industry standard across all solutions. If you have not already noticed, customers are looking for solutions that can fit in easily with their existing technology. At this juncture, I must mention Chief’s interactive mount – it simply turns an existing panel into an interactive panel – how smart is that! I saw it put to work at Integrate Australia where a Sony panel was fixed with the interactive mount and it worked great. This, I was told, could be an easy stepping stone for someone who wants to move towards interactivity without needing to replace their inventory.

Interesting news that caught my eye in this issue was that of gesture technology.

No it’s not new - I have seen the technology used in a museum setting but Actis, a major SI player in India, reckons that the technology will be embraced and used widely in the corporate and even banking field. They are apparently already working on some projects and we hope to be one of the first to cover that story if clients are not prudish about their technology used and allow us to write about it.

On the exhibition front we will be at InfoComm MEA, which is in its second edition. The show has already grown from the last edition in terms of exhibitors and space. Please do drop by our booth to say hi if you are in the vicinity. In the meantime do also read on to find out what some of the major players in the Middle East feel about the opportunities for the AV industry in the region, compiled by our Editor for India and ME, Ram Bhavanashi.

Thomas Richard Prakasam Publisher/Editorial Director

OUR TEAM PUBLISHER / EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Thomas Richard Prakasam thomas@spinworkz.com INDIA AND MIDDLE EAST EDITOR Ram Bhavanashi ram@spinworkz.com DIGITAL PLATFORM WRITER Rosalind Tan rosalind@spinworkz.com WRITER Elissa Nadine elissa@spinworkz.com DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Jimmy Chin jimmy@spinworkz.com ADMIN & CIRCULATION Julie Tan admin@spinworkz.com Media Rep in North America Broadcast Media International Michael Mitchell Tel: +1 631 673 0072 mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv PRINTED BY Print & Print Pte Ltd PUBLISHED BY Spinworkz Pte Ltd 51 Bukit Batok Crescent #06-10 Unity Centre Singapore 658077 Tel: (65) 6316 2716 Fax: (65) 63162715 www.spinworkz.com Disclaimer Systems Integration Asia is published 6 times a year.

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine is to be reproduced, whether mechanical or electronic without the prior written consent of the publisher. Views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the publisher. Unsolicited contributions are welcome but the editor reserves the discretion to use them. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy and honesty in both editorial and advertising content at press time, the publisher will not be liable for any inaccuracies.

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Mitsubishi Electric and Khai Quoc hold successful product seminar at Ho Chi Minh

VIETNAM: Following-up on last year’s successful seminar in Hanoi, Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd, Visual Imaging Division and Khai Quoc Trading & Technology Development Company Limited held a similar event in Ho Chi Minh this year. The product seminar took place at Park Hyatt Saigon on 12 July 2012. The crowd consisted of 85 dealers from 28 different cities, coming mainly from the southern part of Vietnam.

The seminar began with a welcome introduction by Khai Quoc’s Chief Executive Officer, Tran Quang Nguyen.

It’s Director, Tran Quang Nghiem then shared the development of distribution channels for Mitsubishi Electric’s Visual Imaging products in Vietnam.

Naohiro Sato, Senior General Manager of Mitsubishi Electric’s Visual Imaging Division, talked about the detailed

expansion of Visual Imaging products in the country. Leong Thian Fong, Projector Sales Manager of Mitsubishi Electric, rounded off the presentation by sharing interesting information on the projector product line-up, distribution channels, marketing activities and public display monitor business.

During the coffee break, dealers had the opportunity to view Mitsubishi Electric’s wide range of product displays. The four projector demonstration stations included a 3D Home Cinema (HC7800D), 4-in-1 LAN display (XD550U), an edgeblending function (XD8100U) and interactivity (XD365U-EST). Mitsubishi Electric also took the opportunity to showcase its public display LCD monitors, featuring the portrait function of the LDT461V2 and 2x1 tiling display

of the MDT421S. The audience had the chance to test out the products and were totally impressed with Mitsubishi Electric’s product capabilities and technologies. The station which captured the most attention was the XD365U-EST Interactive Projector.

The product seminar was rounded off with a networking dinner at the same hotel. Attractive lucky draw prizes were also given out to the audience.

The dealers gained valuable Mitsubishi Electric product knowledge and had a great time throughout the event.

Mitsubishi Electric will continue to hold such meaningful seminars in the region. www.mitsubishielectric.com.sg www.khaiquoc.com

Image Design Technology joins Midwich Group AUSTRALIA: Image Design Technology (IDT), one of Australia’s foremost providers of video and data display technology, has announced that leading European technology distributor, Midwich Limited, has acquired majority shares of the Australian company.

This acquisition is Midwich’s first in the Australian and New Zealand region and was effective as of 1 August, 2012.

Established in 1998, IDT will continue to be spearheaded by Gerry Wilkins, Founder and Managing Director of the company.

audio and visual needs. The acquisition will also help us increase our investment into the local marketplace, by adding technical resources, improved stock levels, marketing materials and training programmes, so that we can fully equip and support IDT customers,” said Wilkins.

According to Wilkins, the acquisition is a major coup as it enables IDT to tap into the resources and expertise of a global company, while still retaining the great local service and strong local investment for which IDT is recognised.

Stephen Fenby, Managing Director of Midwich added, “This transaction represents our first move outside our traditional European market. We have been most impressed with Gerry and his team, as well as the similarities in our businesses and service ethos.

IDT has a great portfolio of quality brands and a strong reputation with customers serving the AV industry. We look forward to helping the team at IDT to build a leading specialist audio visual distribution business.”

“Our partnership with Midwich allows us to expand our product offering and act as a one-stop shop for our customers’

Wilkins added the acquisition is a win for IDT’s local channel and current employees.

“By partnering with

Midwich, our local vendors can expect to see larger transactions, improved buying power and more opportunities passing through their sales channels.

Our local staff can also expect continued investment in local jobs and broader opportunities to grow their career.”

IDT’s key technology areas are video walls including control and processing, IP signal distribution and digital signage.

IDT is also a major distributor of large format commercial displays, including a variety of touch-screen solutions.

Its principle vendors include Avitech, Brightsign, HaiVision, Jupiter, Magenta Research, NEC, Planar, and Samsung. www.midwich.com www.idt.com.au

08

NEWS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Kramer Asia Pacific Annual Seminar 2012 Digital Signage Technologies - Video Over IP This session reviewed the basics of Video over IP, followed by a brief overview of Kramer’s future IP products for the Digital Signage market. There was also a brief hands-on demo of Kramer’s new KDS-MP1 Media Player.

MV-6 This session touched on the future. The next generation of Kramer’s PC and Mobile applications that are currently under development. Including a new K-Router, EDID manager and Protocol 3000 calculator, all of which will be released in the next few months with more to come. The session covered the basic concepts behind the new applications, and more importantly, how these software releases are going to enable easier setup and control of Kramer products.

Welcome Dinner on the first night

THAILAND: The Kramer Asia Pacific Annual Seminar 2012, better known as KAPAS, was held this year at the Shangri-La in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from the 26th to the 29th of August.

With the theme “A Gathering of Minds”, KAPAS, this year, had a record turnout of almost 90 professionals from the AV industry in Asia. Included in the guest list were, clients, systems integrators and distributors from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and the Philippines.

With a featured mix of management and technical personnel, engineers, sales managers and even consultants from Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.

from HQ, who took charge of some of the technical breakout sessions.

The event’s key objectives were to offer a platform for those gathered to exchange industry updates and share ideas as well as experiences from the different regions and cultures. This was achieved with a mix of technical sessions as well as recreational activities that enabled guests and Kramer staff to further foster relationships, catch up with old friends and make new ones from across the region.

VP-790 New Features

Key highlights included the opportunity for many of the guests to meet with Kramer Electronic’s newly appointed CEO, Jaron Lotan, who took the opportunity to come to the event to meet with Kramer’s key partners in Asia and also to better grasp an understanding of the industry and its challenges in the region. Also from headquarters were Ari Gorlin, VP of Sales, and Ezra Ozer , VP of Marketing, both made presentations.

Making their first trip to this part of the world were also product managers Yishai Mescheloff and Ohad Oman

The first evening saw guests and Kramer staff mingling pool side for a casual welcome dinner party. The second day kicked off the programme proper. After the welcome speech and introduction of staff, Ari Gorlin updated guests about what is to be expected from Kramer in the coming future. Ezra Ozer conducted a presentation with regards to the various resolutions (2K, 4K and 8K), their impact, challenges and the solutions provided by Kramer. Later sessions were dedicated to specific Kramer solutions.

Included were the following:

Attendees had the opportunity to look at the unique features offered by this HQV scaler, with particular emphasis on the warping feature. The hands on session included building a warp map as well as demonstrating the edgeblending function for operation with two projectors. Attendees also got a sneak peak at the new functions and features in units which are currently under development.

Ohad Oman, product manager from Kramer HQ explaining to participants about Kramer Core

The day ended with an Outdoor BBQ at the River Market Restaurant.

The third day started off with sharing of successful installations stories, followed by a presentation on Kramer Core technology and Installer solutions.

The session on Kramer Core™ touched on how the Kramer Core™ concept helps the transition from products to solutions. Attendees were brought through a review of the synergy between products and learned about the common features of the Core™ family products.

Among the products reviewed were the DGKat™, Core Matrix switchers and Dynamic Port Processing.

The Installer Solutions session introduced existing, modified and new installer solutions such as floor boxes, new and modified loudspeakers and other applications and innovations in the cables field. Also introduced was the Modular TBUS system.

The second half of the day was dedicated to recreational events, with guests having their pick of either golf,

Eileen Lim of Kramer Singapore conducting the session on Video over IP

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

extreme sports or visiting Chiang Mai’s attractions. The evening saw a formal sit down dinner at the Hotel Ballroom which included an Awards Presentation.

This year Kramer gave two de”k”ade milestone awards to two companies who have been with Kramer since day one of Kramer’s foray into Asia, which was about 15 years ago. The two companies recognised were:

The last day saw an interesting presentation by Nigel Hodgson, MD of Kramer UK, whose topic was titled “KRAMER UNPACKED - Exploring the DNA of a Company”, followed by a closing review of the event in the early part of the morning with guests making

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their way back home refreshed with ideas, motivated to succeed and most importantly, bringing back memories of a wonderful KAPAS event.

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The de”k”ade Milestone (Thailand) award: S.T. Communications Ltd The de”k”ade Milestone (Singapore) award: Coastal Electronics Pte Ltd

Other awards included: Highest Sales for Year 2011 (India): Sigma-Byte AV Solutions Pvt Ltd Best Sales Growth 2011 (Singapore): J Nissi International Pte Ltd Best Sales Performance (Hong Kong): Media-Go Technology Ltd Participants of the Kramer Swing for Charity event

David Penrose, Systems Specialist KAP, presenting about the VP-790 features

Kramer Electronics CEO, Jaron Lotan and GM of Kramer Asia Pacific, Jeffrey Lam steering Kramer ahead!

Jeffrey Lam, GM of Kramer Asia Pacific giving the Opening Speech at the Awards Gala Dinner

Ari Gorlin, VP of Sales, Kramer HQ, giving a speech at the Awards Gala Dinner

Scott of J Nissi receiving the award for Best Sales Growth (2011) Singapore

Sigma Byte of India receiving the award for Highest Sales for Year(2011)

Clients from Kramer India having a good time

(L-R) Victor Hung and Tony Leung of MediaGo Hong Kong with Zane Au of SMW Hong Kong

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Commuters in Singapore receive up to the minute information with Harris’ Digital Out-Of-Home solution SINGAPORE: Singapore’s leading media company, MediaCorp, has implemented digital signage on giant screens located at bus stops all over the country. To ensure that each sign is able to convey breaking news, traffic and weather alerts as well as advertising, the company turned to Harris for a unique digital out-of-home solution borne out of its strengths in video distribution, broadcast and IT workflows.

Harris delivered with an end-to-end InfoCaster Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) solution. The innovative installation provides content that is delivered to the screens using data channels in the country’s DVB-T digital television broadcasting system. This enables targeted content to be sent to all screens, groups or individual sites over the air, without the need to install cables.

“When we won the contract from LTA in Singapore for bus–stop shelters, our business plan included digital signage along the busiest/highest traffic sites,”

said Thomas Ang, Vice President, out of home media. “We wanted to get the system up and running quickly, and Harris’s ability to deliver a complete package — including the ability to transmit the content over the air, saves us the need to lay new data infrastructure. This meant that we could deliver our modern and creative solutions to advertisers, and be able to inform and engage audiences as quickly as possible.”

The Harris Digital Out-Of-Home solution incorporates all the elements needed to manage a complex digital signage operation. The InfoCaster Creator operates to acquire or create sophisticated digital content, and the InfoCaster Player is the server which synchronises and delivers the content.

The InfoCaster system also includes user-friendly tools to schedule and manage content, as well as provide the back-office functionality to sell, place and bill advertising within the schedule.

“This is a great example of how Harris can bring together its proven experience from a range of applications to deliver a single solution which precisely meets a very specific challenge,” said Harris Morris, president of Harris Broadcast Communications. “Our InfoCaster Digital Out-Of-Home system pulls together our knowledge of sales and scheduling, graphics and servers that has been built up over decades of work with the world’s leading media and entertainment companies.” www.harris.com

Sony’s new HD visual communications server brings high resolution multi-party video conferencing to a new level

Sony PCS-VCSH24 HD visual communications server

APAC: Sony is taking bold strides forward in video-conferencing, bylaunching a new HD Visual Communications Server, the PCS-VCSH24. Moving beyond being an endpoint provider, Sony demonstrates its commitment to a total solutions offering with the introduction of this all-new MCU that supports full HD 1080p quality video-conferencing for users from up to 24 different sites.

The impetus for this new offering came from the growing mobility and collaborative nature of workplace environments. Customers need videoconferencing solutions that provide exceptional audio-visual quality, smooth

connections across geographical boundaries and the flexibility of working within different infrastructure environments while maximising their investments.

Sony’s PCS-VCSH24 enables smooth HD quality video (720p) to be received by any H.323 endpoint from the MCU even in low bandwidths of 384kbps. It supports a mixture of HD/SD environments and features a Continuous Presence (CP) mode with voice-activated switching of up to 16 split-screens. The PCS-VCSH24 also possesses a shared phone book function, support for QOS (Auto Repeat Request) and a web interface which

enables conference reservation anytime, anywhere.

This intelligently-designed MCU brings multi-party video-conferencing that is high resolution, easy to manage and suitable for all organisations looking for unparalleled price performance – whether for MNCs, medium-sized enterprises, education, government or medical sectors.

The PCS-VCSH24 is available in Asia Pacific with immediate effect. www.pro.sony-asia.com

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

WolfVision Pte Ltd opens the doors to new office exciting products that have already hit the market or that are in the making. ''The need for a whole new ground up approach for a demo space was one of the major factors in our move to a brand new premise'', says Yaw. Measuring up to about 1100sqm, the office acts as a warehousing space for all demo and stock units as well as a conference room. All activities for Asia, excluding Japan, will be congregated into the new office including sales, technical support, logistics and more.

WolfVision is a pioneer in the industry and has been developing and manufacturing Visualizers for more than two decades.

Many of today's standards in "Visualizer technology" were developed and first introduced by WolfVision. www.wolfvision.com SINGAPORE: WolfVision Pte Ltd, the Asian subsidiary of WolfVision Gmbh Austria, raised the curtain of their new state-of-the-art office located at 81 Ubi Avenue 4,Singapore.

Opened by Michael Lisch, Director of Sales Worldwide, and local Director, Martin Low, the event was extended to the entire AV industry including system integrators, re-sellers and end-users. ''We hope to leverage on this combined presence to give a convenient location

for potential end users who need to touch and feel the products they are interested in'', says General Manager, Adrian Yaw. The previous distribution office in Singapore was opened in 1997 and the motivation behind the move was aimed at being nearer to fellow AV industry manufacturers as the majority of Singapore's AV community is based in Ubi. The new space also means a new solution showcase for all the new and

Barco selected for the Largest Control Center Display in China’s State Grid System CHINA: Barco has announced that its OVL-815 Video Wall and TransForm-A Controller has been chosen for Tianjin Electic Power Corporation’s (TEPC) Control Center display system.

Being the largest display system (17x4 OVL-815) in China’s electric power generation industry, Barco was the optimal choice as the display needed to be constructed with high efficiency and quality whilst on a tight schedule.

Barco won the project due to its firstclass modular design and cutting-edge color correction. The OVL-815 Video Wall possesses Barco’s advanced liquid cooling system, ensuring lower LED temperatures and thus a longer lifetime with an excellent viewing experience.

The TransForm-A Video Wall Controller makes it possible to display any type of video and data source on any display configuration in an enterprise environment. Such an integrated platform will help TEPC achieve efficient, flexible operations which will ensure stable and reliable monitoring and decision-making.

During the implementation phase, Barco received high praise from TEPC for its excellent installation efficiency and comprehensive as well as meticulous management.

Mr. Wang Xu from the control room center of TEPC commented: “Barco integrated ergonomics into the system design, which helped us eliminate roadblocks in determining indoor layout and visual angle. I believe this will

play a significant role in accelerating the development of China’s national electrical power systems.”

Mr. Mun Fei Soo, VP Sales of Barco CR & SIM APAC, stated: “We are honored to be able to provide a system that helps TEPC to reinforce their leading position in the power industry. Working with TEPC on this project also enables us to have a deeper understanding on the needs of this important industry”.

TEPC’s Control Center is one of the pilot programs for the construction of the Centralized Control & Large-scale Operation Based National Electric Power System initiated by China’s State Grid Corporation. www.barco.com

16

NEWS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Mitsubishi Electric holds Public Display and Display Wall Show Week offers. The interactive touch capability is achieved via infrared signals. Also in keeping with recent trends especially in the entertainment, museum and even school environment the MDT551S can be orientated as a face-up option.

The super narrow bezel VS-L55HM70U 55” LCD Display Wall.

SINGAPORE: Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd, Visual Imaging Division, held an open house from the 27th - 31st August 2012 at their office premises to specifically showcase their Public Display and Display Wall solutions to integrators, end-users and dealers. The appointment-only event was held to reiterate as well as highlight the various features and options that Mitsubishi Electric’s display systems offer. With an opportunity to answer queries and show demonstrations in a conducive environment, the event was a major success as it offered an interaction level that would simply not be possible in an exhibition environment.

The event room was divided into four functional islands, showcasing the different public displays and display wall solutions.

Targeting digital signage applications, Mitsubishi Electric showcased its 42” LCD Public Display panel.The MDT421S, 42” features a stylish design with a black hairline finish and aluminium 16mm slim bezel. A built-in CAT5 input allows for long distance signal transmission, which supports lengths of up to 150 metres.

The display can also be daisy-chained for tiling up to 5x5 displays in total.

Mitsubishi Electric is also able to offer a No-logo (that of the brand) bezel option to suit certain requests or environments.

Featuring full HD resolution(1920x 1080), the MDT421S also features auto brightness that enables the display to automatically adjust itself in relation to the surrounding environment.

For a more simplified digital signage application, Mitsubishi Electric showcased

the LDT462V, 46” LCD Public Display panel. This energy-saving design and Energy-star compliant display features built-in speakers, SDI direct input for broadcasting and is compatible with Crestron RoomView™ and AMX Device Discovery. This full HD resolution display also offers an optional OPS built-in PC. The OPS offers signage software which enables users to create content easily without the need for a PC or player. The LDT462V can be used as a standalone display for retail or even for videoconferencing and broadcast application.

For value-added versatile application, Mitsubishi Electric showcased the MDT551S, 55” LCD Public Display panel. Also featuring a stylish design with black hairline finish the display is Energy-star compliant and offers full HD resolution. This 17.5mm aluminium slim bezel display also features, similar to the LDT462V, an optional OPS built-in PC and an SDI direct input slot. The key draw of the MDT551S is the optional overlay dual/multi touch feature that it

The MDT421S features a built-in CAT5 input that allows for long distance signal transmission, which supports lengths of up to 150 metres.

The functional islands that showcased Mitsubishi Electric’s panels for traditional signage application, simplified and stand-alone signage application and as a value-added versatile application culminated with the showcasing of the company’s VS-L55HM70U, 55” LCD Display Wall. Shown for the first time in Singapore, the unique Super Narrow Bezel LCD Display Wall offers the functionality and appearance of its 24/7 Video Wall Cube, with a design that is enhanced for environments that are not continuously operated year round. With the VS-L55HM70U, Mitsubishi Electric implemented its deep knowledge of multi-screen applications to provide a display with a narrow 5.7 mm screen to screen gap.

The VS-L55HM70U LCD Display Wall is ideally suited for heavy video presentation and monitoring applications. It offers a 3500:1 contrast ratio and a maximum of 700 nits of screen brightness providing fantastic image detail even with the darkest of content.

These 55” LCD displays offer a compact form factor that is ideally suited in small to medium sized control rooms. Their versatile displays can be used in a tiling arrangement to provide large overall resolution that caters to any customised request.

Giving maximum image versatility, the optional input cards and the built-in image-processing capabilities, allow each Mitsubishi Electric’s Super Narrow Bezel LCD Display Wall to exhibit up to six video windows or three PC windows per screen without any external processing

The MDT551S can be orientated as a faceup option with an overlay dual/multi touch feature.

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

NEWS

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Orchestrate!

Go ahead – create truly sensational multi-display shows with Dataton WATCHOUT™ production and playback software. Orchestrate virtually all types of digital media, including 3D, live feeds and streaming. Manipulate the content in real-time, and show it on multiple, synchronized displays.

Chinese language version available.

Michael Qiu with Jeremy Lim and Tee Chin Seng of Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd, Visual Imaging Division

Orchestrate!

Go ahead – create truly sensational multi-display shows with Dataton WATCHOUT™ production and playback software. Orchestrate virtually all types of digital media, including 3D, live feeds and streaming. Manipulate the content in real-time, and show it on multiple, synchronized displays. Now in award-winning version 5.

Hua Qing: Projection with over 50 WATCHOUT channels and special effects tell a 8th Century love story. Image courtesy AVT China.

CES 2012: WATCHOUT orchestrates a 60 ft video wall with 63 screens. Image courtesy Mind Opera.

VISIT US AT

INFOCOMM 2012 Expo 2012, Yeosu: WATCHOUT drives video in digital dome display in host Korea pavilion. Image courtesy domeprojection.com. on.com. equipment needed. Using the optional versatile input boards, the Display Wall can even seamlessly display up to three or six windows placed in any size and position across the entire display wall. The optional input cards connect to various important sources such as computers, security/traffic cameras, television receivers, etc.

Each Mitsubishi Electric’s Super Narrow Bezel LCD Display Wall is equipped with a built-in brightness sensor (brightness is measured every 2 seconds). The Dynamic Brightness Balancing circuit then communicates the measured brightness data between all wall cubes and automatically performs the necessary adjustments to maintain optimum brightness uniformity across the entire display wall. It also offers 3 operational modes of brightness: Bright, Normal or Eco.

JUNE 13-15 # N1641

VISIT US AT INFOCOMM MEA OCT 14-18, TA-C40 DUBAI

www.dataton.com/watch out

Maintenance of the display wall is a breeze with front-access capabilities. The use of Mitsubishi Electric’s original bracket (BR-HM70KK) is designed to provide unique perfect ventilation for the display wall and ensure they can work in continuous 24/7 environment with minimised burn-in effect.

Michael Qiu, Sales Manager of Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd, comments about the open house, “The event allowed us to showcase our public displays for different environment needs and discuss issues with our guests, in an intimate manner. To us, the event has been a success in enabling us to highlight that Mitsubishi Electric has much to offer in the display field.” www.mitsubishielectric.com.sg

www.dataton.com/watch out

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NEWS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Grand Opening of Crestron Asia Shanghai Experience Center allows visitors to enjoy a home-like experience. Pressing the “welcome mode” on the touch panel near the entrance area automatically switches on the lighting in the meeting room and open area, gradually opens the window shades, adjusts the air-conditioning system to optimal temperature, and plays soft background music – providing a relaxed environment for the users.

When users walk from the living room to the suite room, the motion sensor will automatically light up the pathway, and switch on the lighting and the TV in the suite room in advance. When it is time for bed, users need only to press the “sleeping mode” to automatically switch off all the indoor lighting and electrical appliances and turn on the security system for a comfortable and secure sleep.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

HONG KONG: Crestron Asia Limited has officially opened its Shanghai Experience Center. The Center, which represents a new expansion phase of the Crestron Shanghai office, underscores Crestron Asia’s commitment to longterm development in China.

Guests of honor Mr. Kanny Leong, Director, Asia Operations, Crestron Asia, and Mr. Roy Zhang, General Manager, East China, Crestron (China), led the ribbon cutting and toasting ceremony.

The prestigious event was attended by over 20 renowned distributors and integrators from the Eastern China region as well as several invited media representatives.

The elegantly designed and fully functional experience Center provides an ideal destination for interior designers, lighting designers, architects, builders and property developers to experience the most advanced intelligent technologies innovated by Crestron.

Besides being aesthetically designed with the latest state-of-the-art technologies, the new Shanghai Experience Center also effectively demonstrates how interior designs can be perfectly integrated with advanced technologies. Featuring three main simulated areas – the living room, the suite room and the multimedia conference boardroom– visitors are able to experience the various advantages offered by the intelligent home and office design technologies in the real-life settings.

The living room is fully equipped with all the home theatre devices that can be found in a deluxe villa, including lighting, window shades, air-conditioning, visualaudio and security systems. Utilizing Crestrons’ intelligent home theatre technologies, visitors have full control over the systems using a single touch panel. Users are also given the option to choose different modes. For example, users may select “movie mode” that automatically dims the lighting in the living room, lowers the window shades, adjusts the air-conditioning temperature and switches on the Blue-ray DVD player, TV and Hi-Fi audio systems. In addition, Crestron’s integrated solutions facilitate real interactions between users and systems, such as automatically switching the TV display over to show the surveillance screen of the entrance area and allowing the door to be opened using a one-touch button useful for when someone comes to visit while the users are enjoying movies.

In the multimedia conference boardroom, plasma TVs and LCD monitors replace traditional projectors and screens.

Visitors are greeted by the most advanced visual-audio control system in the industry. The Crestron DigitalMedia system and the DVPHD High-Definition Digital Video Processor also fully demonstrates how users can convene meetings comfortably and efficiently with one touch on the wall-mounted TPMC-8X touch panel. With the panel, users are able to decide on the best illumination, they are also able switch between different visual displays, turn on the microphone system, and adjust the temperature to optimal levels.

With the opening of the Crestron Shanghai Experience Center, Crestron Asia continues its commitment to break through the boundaries of traditional living style and offer more innovative, human-friendly and intelligent home and office design technologies to its clients. The Center will be open for the first time to the public from 10th to 14th September 2012.

Designed to be a safe, comfortable and warm environment, the suite room

www.crestronasia.com

The simulated multimedia conference board room

The simulated guest room at the Shanghai Experience Center

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

NEWS

TV One embraces David Reynaga as new Global Head of R&D INTERNATIONAL: Global manufacturer of residential and commercial ventilation, Nortek Inc, has appointed David Reynaga as the new Global Head of R&D at the pro A/V and broadcast company,TV One. Reynaga, an experienced engineer and manager within the A/V industry, joins after five years at Imerge, part of the Prism Sound Group, where he served as the Director of Products.

While at Imerge, Reynaga led the development of their award winning Media Server. Having also previously spent eight years at NXT plc. Reynaga brings a wealth of hands-on experience into TV One. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering with honors degree, as well as qualifications in Prince2 Project Management, Agile Product Management and Agile SW development and testing.

“I am delighted to join TV One, a highly respected company in the Pro A/V and Broadcast industries,” says Reynaga. “TV One is one of the most innovative pioneers in our industries. I see opportunities to develop additional technologies and products and lead the exciting expansion plans TV One have in place for R&D.” Steven Mattingly, Managing Director of TV One, is excited to have Reynaga heading the massive expansion of TV One’s R&D. “TV One is making a substantial investment in additional

engineering resources over the next two years. David’s proven track record in engineering and product management make him the ideal person to lead the drive” says Mattingly.

Globally manufacturing a complete line-up of products for the professional and broadcast video market ,TV One specializes in video, audio and multimedia processing equipment, based on its proprietary CORIO video conversion technology. www.tvone.com

The Navigate Group and its five members re-brand as Pro AV Solutions I FTH GE ·F

QUINTA WIRELESS CONFERENCING SI

AUSTRALIA: For over a decade the Navigate Group has aligned five individual state-based professional audiovisual businesses to provide Australia with streamlined audiovisual and videoconferencing technology and solutions.

CONFERENCE TECHNOLOGY MADE IN GERMANY

Effective as of 20th August 2012, the group and its five members based in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA and SA have rebranded as Pro AV Solutions – delivering unified audiovisual, communication and technology solutions, through people dedicated to excellence.

Now more than ever, every supplier and customer of Pro AV Solutions will benefit from a strong national force with local, on the ground staff across Australia. They will enjoy the powerful backing and combined strength of a truly national group working as one.

At Pro AV Solutions, over 180 professionals are in the pursuit of audiovisual excellence, sharing the same passion, culture and vision to innovate and create solutions that capture the imaginations and exceed our clients’ expectations. www.proAVsolutions.com.au

Triple band, maximum audio quality and transmission security, Audio / Video Bridging, Smartphone control, removable gooseneck microphones with Scudio Technology, custom panels, braille, voice activation.

www.beyerdynamic.com/quinta

IRELESS · W

RATION NE

N C E 1998

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NEWS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

PALM Expo™ 2013 delivers a gateway to the booming market with an estimated buying power of more than USD 500 million! of three days – an increase of over 25% as compared to the 2011 Expo. While the floor space was calculated to be around 12,000sq.m, housing a total of 117 exhibitors, showcasing products and technologies from reputed brands worldwide.

INDIA: Driven by a sterling demographic dividend, continuing structural reform and globalization, India is poised to accelerate its growth rate to 9-9.5% over 2013-15. This has prompted the belief that India will be the world’s fastest growing economy by 2013-15. The GDP growth in India has averaged 6.2% annually over the past 30 years. During this period, India’s GDP grew seven times to $1.2 trillion. India has also been constantly registering a steady growth, with huge investments through FDI. It recorded investments worth US$46.84 billion in 2011-2012 which is a significant 34.4% increase from the US$34.84 billion recorded in 2010-2011.

The Indian Media & Entertainment industry is anticipated to touch US$ 25.51 billion by 2016 (forecasted by a recent report from KPMG) thus registering a CAGR of 15%. Prime reasons for this forecasted growth is strong consumptions in Tier 2 and 3 cities, sustainable growth in regional media and the ever increasing new media business. Others include the rising infrastructure growth, India’s economic and industrial position in markets across the world and recently, the possibility of successful world class events that have resulted in better infrastructural outlays.

With a number of hotels, stadiums, multiplexes, amphitheatres and auditoriums that are planned to be built in India over the next 3 - 4 years and entertainment destinations like the Kingdom of Dreams, theme parks, concert venues, elite shopping malls, etc., the Indian Pro Audio, Lighting, Pro AV and Music Production industries is all set to register its multilevel growth in the coming years.

PALM™ Expo is India’s foremost and undisputed and internationally reputed exposition for the Pro sound, Lighting, Music production, Musical instruments and Pro AV industry. PALM™ Expo and the co-located Musician™ Expo is an amalgamation of creative & technical talent, trade and quality business networking, which was envisaged as a platform to deliver enhanced business opportunities within the Indian market.

Touted to be the best ever PALM™ Expo till date, the 2012 edition of the PALM™ Expo had exhibitors extremely excited with the kind of turnout they witnessed at the show and the amount of interest and response they received. Official reports from PALM & Musician™ Expo 2012 state that the show clocked over 20,000 visitor registrations over its span

This year, PALM™ Expo successfully added Pro AV to complete the technology supply chain that provided visitors access to the latest in large format LED / LCD displays as well as 3D display technologies, for business as well as entertainment applications.

Video projection and Integration technologies attracted the developing market in System Integration and AV/ IT in India. Brands included Panasonic, BenQ, Christie Digital, Watchout, Martin Professional to name a few. Alongside them were pro audio tycoons like Harman, Loud Technologies, Sennheiser, Yamaha, Music Group, BOSCH, Studiomaster, QSC, Community, Meyer Sound, K-Array, Martin Audio, Robe, Allen & Heath, Avid, Lab Gruppen, Digico, Genelec, Sonodyne, etc.

The PALM™ Expo 2012 superseded all expectations with some extremely impressive deliverables that came to fruition this year. However, Diversified Communications India (DCI) – the organizers of the PALM™ Expo – assure that they will continue to invest in modernizing the show and providing a state of the art experience. Many initiatives and enhancements are planned for the flagship event next year, and the organizers are confident that this will help bring the future editions of the show to the next level.

PALM™ Expo will march with pride into its thirteenth year in 2013 and will be held from 30th May – 1st June 2013 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India. For more details, write to Ramesh Chetwani on rchetwani@divcom.in www.palmexpo.in

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SOLUTIONS UPDATE

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

AMX Modero X Series delivers live video streaming preview advanced technology like embedded support for Near Field Communications (NFC), HD panel-to-panel video chat and array of supported video and audio codecs – now including H.264 – controlling the room or just kicking back with multimedia AV is easy.

AMX MXA-MPL

AMX, has announced the immediate availability of the Modero X® Series Multi Preview Live (MXA-MPL) and the addition of panel-to-panel video chat support for its Modero X® Series Touch Panels. The MXA-MPL is an accessory that can stream real-time video and preview images to Modero X Series Touch Panels for 10 video sources connected to an Enova® DVX All-in-One Presentation Switcher or Enova DGX Digital Media Switcher.

Managing a video conference or enjoying family movie night doesn’t get any simpler or intuitive than this. The user interface is so user friendly that anyone without familiarity can approach

a Modero X Series Touch Panel, swipe through preview images, select the video source and begin watching a live video stream on the panel. The “PanTastic” user experience instantly outdates other touch panels that, instead of actually showing the output from connected sources, display only cryptic icons such as “DVD 1” or “Laptop 2.” The MXA-MPL eliminates the guesswork.

The Modero X Series is designed to utilize the ease of swipe, gesture and glide control that people the world over have adopted from using mobile devices. Modero X takes the touch panel experience to the next level. Through its ultra-low, ultra-wide design and

The MXA-MPL supports all common analog and digital formats and interfaces: HDMI, DVI, RGBHV, S-Video, Composite or Component. And the MXAMPL supports a comprehensive range of video input resolutions: 1280x720p@60 Hz, 1024x768p@60 Hz, 800x600p@60 Hz, 720x480i@60 Hz, 720x480p@60 Hz, 640x480p@60 Hz, 576i,576p@50 Hz (PAL), 480i, 480p@60 Hz (NTSC).

Also, from the same product line, the Modero X Series Multi Preview (MXAMP) offers 10 video previews and many of the same capabilities of the MXA-MPL like HDMI video inputs and HDMI passthrough video output. With the MXAMP all 10 video preview windows are continuously updating JPEG images. www.amx.com

Kramer introduces the VS−88DTP 8x8 DVI Matrix Switcher Kramer Electronics VS−88DTP is a high−performance Twisted Pair Matrix Switcher for DVI signals. The unit reclocks and equalizes the signal while being able to route any or all inputs to any or all DGKat™ twisted pair outputs simultaneously.

The VS−88DTP has a maximum input data rate of 1.65Gbps and is HDTV compatible. The VS−88DTP has eight DVI−D inputs on DVI−I connectors, and eight DGKat twisted pair outputs on RJ−45 connectors. The unit features Kramer’s re−Klocking™ & Equalization technology, which rebuilds the digital signal to travel longer distances.

The VS−88DTP has a system range of up to 225 ft. (90m) at 1080i or up to 98 ft.m (30m) at 1080p on Kramer shielded BC− DGKat524 cable. On Kramer shielded BC−DGKat623 cable, the unit has a range of up to 295 ft. (90m) at 1080i, or up to 230 ft. (70m) at 1080p, and on Kramer shielded BC−DGKat7a23 cable, it has a range of up to 330 ft. (100m) at 1080i or up to 295 ft. (90m) at 1080p.

The VS−88DTP features Kramer’s DGKat™ Signal Integration – unique technology for converting digital TMDS signals such as DVI or HDMI as well as control and communication to signals

that run over twisted pair cables. For best performance, Kramer strongly recommends using DGKat cables designed specifically for optimum range and compatibility with Kramer twisted pair transmitters and receivers.

setups for quick access to the most frequently used configurations. The VS−88DTP also features Kramer’s I− EDIDPro™ Intelligent EDID Processing™, an algorithm that ensures “Plug and Play” operation in DVI systems.

The VS−88DTP provides convenient features for easy operation including a front panel lockout button. The unit can be controlled via the front−panel touch switches, through its serial RS−232 and RS−485 ports, via Ethernet, or by the included IR remote control. The unit also includes K−Router™ Windows®− based control software, and Windows®− based Ethernet Configuration Manager & Virtual Serial Port Manager. The unit has sixteen memory locations to store

The VS−88DTP operates with a worldwide power supply, and is housed in a standard 19” rack mount, with “ears” included.

The VS−88DTP is currently in stock and available from Kramer Electronics sales companies around the world. www.kramerelectronics.com.

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

NEC launches new portable LED professional projector NEC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd’s new NEC L51W LED professional portable projector is a slim and light projector offering flexible usage for mobile and corporate applications.

The successor of L50W LED is the latest addition to NEC’s Office Cool portfolio and makes a perfect upgrade for customers wishing to present wireless from their portable devices as well.

Designed to provide flexibility and optimum image quality, the L51W projector uses an LED light source hence ensuring a lightweight design, reliability, low power consumption and very low total cost of ownership (TCO). This makes NEC’s mobile projector ideal for carrying to business presentations and meetings.

The minimalistic design with built-in power supply still provides full connectivity featuring HDMI, USB, VGA and RCA inputs.

Furthermore, an integrated office viewer supports laptop- and PC-less presentations, documents, images or videos from an SD card or USB memory. Wireless presentations can also be displayed from your smart phone, tablet or PC. With a brightness of 500 ANSI lumens and contrast ratio 4000:1, the WXGA (1280x800) resolution LED projector delivers a good and sharp image in small- and mid-sized meeting rooms. The wide-screen format provides extra space in presentations and allows displaying video content in its native aspect ratio, without loss of quality.

The L51W weighs 1.2kg and measures just 226mm by 174mm and 43mm deep. As well as being easy to transport, the L51W also ensures ease of use at the set-up stage through features including a remote control, automatic vertical keystone correction and other interesting features.

The use of LED technology enables energy efficient features including fast start-up and shut-down with direct power off, an Off-Timer and around 20,000 hours of light source life time.

Furthermore, the L51W offers minimised power usage for energy and is cost saving, drawing just 105W in Normal mode and as little as 0.5W in Power Savings mode. www.nec-display.com/ap/

SOLUTIONS UPDATE

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SOLUTIONS UPDATE

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Gefen introduces its new multi-functional digital audio amplifier of an audio program such as a movie. It can also be bypassed, if desired.

The multi-functional new GefenTV 2.1 Digital Audio Amplifier w/Volume Stabilizer supports the connection of three different audio inputs using digital (TOSlink; S/PDIF) and analog (L/R) audio formats. The selected input is delivered as L/R analog audio to a pair of speakers using standard binding posts with 50 watts per channel amplification.

A powered subwoofer can also be connected to a line level RCA output.

Bi a mp Sys tem s releases Vocia 1.4.1

When a digital audio input is selected, the GefenTV 2.1 Digital Audio Amplifier automatically down mixes it to 2.1 channels.

The audio output includes Dolby Volume Technology that automatically evens the volume between different audio sources.

Dolby Volume Technology performs a seamless audio leveling that in no way interferes with the natural highs and lows

“The 2.1 Digital Audio Amplifier w/ Volume Stabilizer is a great device for a small office, conference room or even the kitchen,” said Hagai Gefen, President and CEO, Gefen. “You can select between three sources such as a smartphone, CD player and TV, and output high quality, amplified sound with automatic volume stabilizing. It is also perfect for presentation environments and home theaters. This little device has it all.”

Key menu functions, including volume, mute, input selection, volume stabilizing bypass and standby modes are accessed through front panel buttons or an IR remote. One RS-232 port is provided for connection to automation systems. www.gefen.com

Christie officially launches Christie Twist™ 4K

Biamp® Systems has released Vocia 1.4.1. Built to meet the exacting specifications and requirements demanded of public address and voice evacuation systems, Vocia provides a future-proof networked solution for integrators, system managers and endusers.

Vocia 1.4.1 adds to Vocia’s existing functionality and provides new options for ease-of-use and system flexibility.

These features include: * The ability now to turn ground fault detection on or off within the software of the EN 54-16 certified small amplifiers and * The increased flexibility now with the delay time limits of the VA-8600/VA8600c amplifiers, expanding from 0.5 seconds (500ms) maximum per channel to 2.7 seconds (2700ms) The decentralized architecture of Vocia distributes processing and page routing across the network — eliminating the potential for a single point of system failure. Vocia’s proven dependability spans from the simplest overhead paging applications to the most advanced paging and voice evacuation systems across multiple zones and buildings. www.biamp.com

Christie D4K35

Meeting the growing demand for 4K projection outside of cinema applications, Christie® has officially launched Christie Twist™ 4K. Designed for Christie 4K, 3-chip DLP® projectors used in business applications, Christie Twist 4K enables the warping, blending and colour matching of multi-projector displays in large-screen, fixed installation applications including amusement parks, automotive designs, museums and planetariums that require exceptionally large images in a multichannel (tiled) format.

consistency across the entire display when using several projectors. Whether it’s a flat or curved surface, with Christie Twist 4K, ProAV professionals can now blend and colour match images from multiple 4K projectors.This easily creates large, ultra-high resolution canvasses that will amaze audiences.

Christie Twist 4K creates uniform, tiled images with superior colour

www.christiedigital.com

Christie Twist 4K is equipped with Quad DVI input, allowing for the use of standard DVI sources. Christie Twist 4K comes with a two-year parts and labour warranty backed by Christie’s renowned sales and service support.

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

SOLUTIONS UPDATE

25

Furman releases Contractor Series CN-15MP MiniPort Furman has announced that it is now shipping its Contractor Series CN-15MP (15A capacity) MiniPort. Designed for components outside the equipment rack, the CN-15MP combines Furman’s SmartSequencing™ technology with power protection and optional compatibility with Panamax/ Furman’s BlueBOLT® hosted remote power and energy management platform.

The CN-15MP features one pair of AC outlets with configurable delay on/off options, while Extreme Voltage Shutdown circuitry protects connected equipment against under/over voltage conditions. When connected to a Furman SmartSequencer™ (CN-1800S or CN-2400S), the CN-15MP’s SmartSequencing technology allows bidirectional, safe sequenced power on/ off of remotely located equipment with the simple press of a button or turn of a key. Remote control/monitoring is available via Panamax/Furman’s BlueBOLT cloud-based platform or third-party control systems when utilizing a BB-RS232 adaptor with the SmartSequencer. The CN-15MP can also be integrated with legacy (non-Contractor Series) and non-Furman power conditioners/sequencers via remote terminal blocks.

“Packed with features for ultimate flexibility, the CN15MP provides a convenient way to extend the benefits

of our SmartSequencing technology to remotely located equipment,” said Dave Keller, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Panamax/Furman. “When combined with our SmartSequencers, installers can also take advantage of our cloud-based BlueBOLT platform for remote outlet control, energy monitoring, email alerts during power events, and more.”

The CN-15MP is available now to Certified Furman Contractor Series resellers. www.furmancontractor.com

Chief now shipping new iPad® Kits Chief is now shipping several kits that are ideal for integrating iPads in the workplace.

The kits that are now available include the stylish FSBI2B portable iPad interface, which works with the latest two generations of the iPad. The snap fit is designed for easy removal for the user on the go.

Magenta Makes Signal Distribution Easy

The KRA400B weight plate accessory, also available separately, accommodates the minimum weight requirements of K1series dynamic mounts. The weight allows the gas spring arms to function ideally with the FSBI2B. Chief has bundled the portable iPad interfaces with Kontour™ Series mounts for fast and simple ordering: *K0W1I2B — Kontour single display pitch/pivot flush mount with FSBI2B portable iPad interface. *K1C1I2B — Kontour single display column mount with FSBI2B portable iPad interface and KRA400B weight plate accessory. *K1D2I2B — Kontour dual display desk mount with FSBI2B portable iPad interface and KRA400B weight plate accessory. www.chiefmfg.com

VOYAGER Fiber-optic delivery of analog or digital video, plus audio and serial. Switching to 640 ports. Distances to 18.6 miles.

MULTIVIEW UTP-based delivery of analog or digital video, plus audio and serial. Switching to 256x512. Distances to 2,000 feet.

Magenta unravels the complexity of Pro AV switching, extension and distribution.

Analog or digital, copper or fiber, our solutions are flexible, scalable and, of course, rock-solid reliable. Which makes them easy to specify and straightforward to integrate.

We’re large system specialists, able to connect hundreds of signals across huge distances with unrivaled quality.

In a world of increasingly complex AV systems, Magenta engineers more than great technology.

SWITCHING G

E EXTENSION N

D DISTRIBUTION

We engineer confidence.

Chief K1D212B magenta-research.com | 800.805.0944 | sales@magenta-research.com

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SOLUTIONS UPDATE

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Inter-M introduces its new 6000 Series PA system Inter-M combines the best of both worlds in this highly innovative system that features combining the safety and security of a digital system with the convenience of an analog standard.

Besides the aforementioned duality in standard of operations, the 6000 Series is a system of assured safety in terms of usage while providing simplicity for the users. With these aims in mind, this reliable system acts as a bridge that merges two standards by assimilating all the good qualities and technical features synergistically to provide the perfect system for customers’ daily usage.

Given the edge in the digital operation of PA system, the 6000 series also enables the analogue PA broadcasting function to be controlled directly by a PC. This allows more freedom and accessibility to the users. This system features a PC remote control + macro function with a choice of extension of remote microphone (16 units), emergency scenario broadcasting (in the event of PC failure) and of course, the PC control capability. All this can be done with ease and convenience and this ensures reliability to the events or premises this system is utilised in.

Featuring an Emergency Combination System ECS-621P/S, it opens up the possibility to priority based broadcasting with connection between EP-6216 and RM6024 remote MIC station. It also features a 16 channel auto fire sensor input to establish a swift safety evacuation in the event of flame and smoke emergency. EM and BGM based on 16 channel operation are included to enhance the security and technical features of this system.

The RM-6024/6012KP Remote MIC Station is equipped with a zone macro key setup function to maximize its usage in daily operations. It comes with key extension in the form of RM-6012KP in pair. The REM-6108 Remote MIC Extender, on the other hand, serves as a remote microphone extension to support

RM-6024 to up to 16 microphones. In addition, it reinforces the system with broadcasting priority setup.

The 6000 Series is also outfitted with a reliable ER-6116 Emergency Router.

In the event of failure in computer usage, this integral component acts as a PC scenario saving unit to maintain a smooth operation in unexpected or adhoc situations. Availability to extend to a maximum of 10 sets makes this system a great addition to buildings or premises.

For more information about Inter-M 6000 Series, please contact the South East Asia distributor of Inter-M PA System products, Acoustic & Lighting System. www.inter-m.com www.acousticlighting.com

Blackmagic announces major software update to its ATEM switcher models

Blackmagic Design has announced a major new software update that adds full audio mixing capability to its ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher and ATEM Television Studio. ATEM Switcher 3.2 audio mixer software lets customers mix embedded audio from SDI and HDMI inputs as well as external audio inputs.

For ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher, audio mixer software also supports mixing audio from it’s two built-in media players. This software update is available now for download free of charge for all Blackmagic Design ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher and ATEM Television Studio customers.

Now all ATEM switcher models include a built-in audio mixer that uses embedded HDMI and SDI audio from cameras, media servers decks and other inputs so customers do not need an external audio mixer. ATEM Switcher 3.2 audio mixer software also enables audio mixing from external audio sources via dedicated audio ports.

External audio is mixed for ATEM Television Studio from the AES/EBU input, and on ATEM 1 M/E and ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher models audio from the audio breakout cable. On ATEM 1 M/E and ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher models, the audio mixer can also mix audio from the two built in media players, it also contains independent controls for setting the audio level and selecting SOLO audio monitoring.

Once SDI and HDMI cameras are connected to the switcher for vision mixing there are no other connections to make as the audio mixer uses the embedded audio in the video signal.

This not only saves customers money,

but is also much less complex than having to route through an external unit.

Already incredibly compact, both ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher and ATEM Television Studio are now perfect for use on location in fly away kits or in small spaces with broadcast trucks as you don’t have to find room for bulky audio mixing desks.

The elegantly designed and easy to control software interface provides level and balance control for each input, and you can either set audio to follow video or perform a direct mix. Audio-followvideo (AFV) allows audio to crossfade when the inputs change, while direct mix allows an input to be permanently mixed into the program output independent of the current active input. On the ATEM 1 M/E and ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher models the audio output can be used as a dedicated monitor output by selecting SOLO. This exclusively outputs the single source audio to the monitor output so you can listen and confirm audio content before putting it to air without affecting the program output audio. www.blackmagicdesign.com

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

27

SOLUTIONS UPDATE

Sony unveils new VPL-E200 series of projectors Sony has unveiled its new VPL-E200 series of projectors, consisting of nine models that deliver a full range of brightness options from 2,600 lumens up to 3,700 lumens - both in XGA and WXGA format – meeting the performance requirements of virtually any type of education or business projection environment. The series also incorporates convenient ecoconscious features that cut energy consumption and extend lifetime, making the projectors more productive and cost efďŹ cient for all uses. “The new E200 projectors are designed to be reliable allrounders that last longer and offer a lower total cost of ownership,â€? said Mr. Daisuke Nagatomi, Assistant General Manager of Visual Presentation Marketing, Professional Solutions Company (PSAP), Sony Electronics Asia PaciďŹ c. “With the integration of a variety of network functions plus versatile connectivity options, these new models are perfect for organisations searching for a projector solution which doesn’t compromise on performance while remaining budgetfriendly.â€?

With the E200 series, Sony has taken a signiďŹ cant step toward further extending lamp life. By applying a new ďŹ ne-tuned cooling system to reduce clouding of the bulb, lamp life can be extended by up to approximately 7,000 hours, depending on the lamp mode selected. Additionally, the new models adopt Sony’s auto lamp dimming function, where the projector intelligently detects if it is left powered on with a static signal being fed. When a static signal is detected, the lamp can be dimmed to as low as 30 percent of the original brightness after certain time intervals set by the user. When a new signal is sent, the projector instantly returns to full brightness.

To avoid unnecessary power consumption, the new projectors have an Auto Brightness Adjustment Function, where the brightness of the lamp’s output is automatically adjusted depending on the brightness of the projected image. An Eco Mode function also gives users the ability to switch between three brightness modes (high, standard and low), allowing the user to control the power consumption of the projector, increasing the life of the lamp and projector.

Synchronised lamp and ďŹ lter maintenance timing also contributes to reduced cost of ownership. The ďŹ lter will last as long as the lamp which means lamp replacement and ďŹ lter cleaning can be performed quickly, easily and at the same time.

Not only are the projectors designed to be energy-efďŹ cient, they are packed with diverse features and input terminals to meet demanding A/V needs. The projectors’ exible standard zoom lens and variety of inputs allow the projectors to ďŹ t a broad range of applications. Other key features include a 16W high-wattage speaker (only available in certain models) and a variety of interfaces (2xRGB, HDMI, S-Video, RS-232C, RJ-45, Microphone inputs) plus optional wireless capabilities. A USB Media Viewer also allows users to directly project image ďŹ les stored on a USB memory device.

The new E200 series models offer 12-bit 3D digital gamma correction for images with less noise and smoother gradations.

All models use Sony’s advanced generation of inorganic panels (BrightEra™) with a 3LCD projector system to deliver higher picture quality, substantially brighter images, higher efďŹ ciency, better contrast, consistent colour stability and longer durability and usability. The E200 series also offers a choice of six picture modes (dynamic, standard, game, blackboard, cinema and presentation).

VPL-EW275

The security pack includes security locks (password and mechanical), a security bar and panel key lock. The ‘Off and Go’ feature allows the E200 series to be moved immediately after use.

When installed in a local area network (LAN), the versatile network functions of the E200 projectors become available to any PC on that network, offering users greater web control and convenience. Users can also project images wirelessly over a wired LAN or a wireless network (optional IFU-WLM3 wireless USB dongle for wireless connection required), without the need for signal cables. Wireless image transmission is compatible with MicrosoftÂŽ WindowsÂŽ using proprietary software.

For details on the nine models and availability please visit: http://pro.sony-asia.com

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28

SOLUTIONS UPDATE

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

MMD adds new display to its digital menu board

MMD, the exclusive licensee for Philips Commercial Signage and Philips Monitors worldwide, has added a new addition to its digital menu board series, the 47” BDL4771V. The Philips 47” BDL4771V is part of an expanded line of commercial-grade displays built for menu board applications in Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), Theaters, Amusement Parks and Stadium Arenas.

The new Philips 47” BDL4771V features technologies to enhance the viewing experience of digital menu boards in public areas. The Philips display includes an In Plane Switching (IPS) LCD panel for vivid and rich picture quality at 1.07 billion display colours.

The large colour spectrum creates precise colour saturation and contrast for a wider viewing angle in both portrait and landscape orientations. The IPS display technology also produces image consistency from screen to screen in multi-screen implementations. This feature is ideal for ensuring viewers can

clearly read signage content from all angles among an array of displays in a menu board configuration.

To meet a variety of digital menu board configurations, the Philips 47” BDL4771V features DVI Loopthrough technology, which allows the ability to daisy-chain multiple Philips displays through one digital source. By utilizing DVI Loopthrough technology, users can deploy systems in higher volumes while lowering costs for implementation by broadcasting a single video signal through multiple Philips displays. The DVI Loopthrough technology enables an array of Philips displays to connect in video wall and menu board configuration via DVI connection.

In addition to all of the features that are standard on every Philips Commercial Signage model including Multi-Screen Image Alignment, Heat Management and Asset Life Tracking, the low power consumption of the Philips 47” BDL4771V

delivers the best TCO performance for demanding digital menu board applications. The Philips 47” BDL4771V incorporates Smart Insert, which allows the user to mount a small form factor PC or media player on the rear of the panel without increasing the overall depth of the display. 700-nit brightness ensures that the viewing quality can be enjoyed in areas of relatively high ambient brightness environment.

The Philips 47” BDL4771V display can also be controlled and configured via RS232 serial cable, RJ45 network cable, as well as through HDMI via OneWire, which can simultaneously send audio, video, and control signals to the display, cutting down on the need for additional cables. Video can also be connected via display port, which allows better viewing of 1080p video signals. www.mmd-p.com

Cabletime introduces graphical mapping feature for MediaStar Media Manager software Cabletime, developer of the powerful MediaStar range of IPTV distribution solutions, introduces a new feature to its MediaStar Evolution Media Manager software that maps the location, and checks the functionality, of all units, including screens and players, within a graphical representation of the system, or the building in which they are sited.

The Media Manager enterprise software gives full drag-and-drop control of all Evolution IPTV system hardware and screens as well as enabling the configuration and scheduling of all the digital media, video and signage assets for play-out. System managers can take a floor plan or diagram of the

building or system layout and from this create multiple ‘work areas’. Images of the specific Evolution units can then be dropped into the correct location in the work area where they will be represented by an icon. The icon flashes so it can be quickly located and opens to reveal the full configuration and technical details of the unit. Any loss of connectivity will also trigger an alert, allowing the operator to identify the specific unit and its actual location within the building - invaluable in identifying faults and delivering remedies quickly and efficiently.

our customers to get full functionality and performance out of their Evolution system. This new feature ensures that the whole system can be checked easily, and any faults or interruptions can be remedied quickly with minimum disruption to the media or video broadcast. It ensures that maintaining the right content at the right place at the right time is a breeze.”

The new graphical mapping feature is available now on all Evolution units. www.cabletime.com

Nick Bradford, Managing Director at Cabletime, said: “Our objective with Evolution Media Manager is to enable

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

EXHIBITION PREVIEW

HOSPITAL BUILD & INFRASTRUCTURE INDIA 2012 14 – 16 DECEMBER 2012 BOMBAY EXHIBITION CENTRE MUMBAI, INDIA

An opportunity to reach out to one of the fastest growing customer segments in the AV Industry activities from major International Healthcare brands in India.

Current development and refurbishment of new and current hospitals across India include:

InfoComm International’s 2012 AV Market Definition & Strategy Study, highlights three significant developments that will make you sit up and consider showcasing your solutions at the Hospital Build & Infrastructure India 2012 exhibition.

First, the Study highlights that for 2012, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to contribute to 32% of the revenue of an estimated USD78 Billion market. Second, that on the customer end, Healthcare is the fastest growing segment and lastly, in terms of countries, India is the fastest growing market in the Asia Pacific.

More importantly, the Healthcare sector in India is expected to see monumental growth. Development of healthcare facilities is one of the focus areas of the 12th Five Year Plan that runs from fiscal 2012-13 to 2016-17. India targets to invest over US$1 trillion in infrastructure development over the next five years.The National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) has allocated US$10.15 billion for the up gradation and capacity enhancement of healthcare facilities.

According to Grant Thornton, India is also expected to witness the largest number of merger and acquisitions (M&As) in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector in 2012 due to impending patent cliff in the US, the increasing attractiveness of India as a low-cost R&D destination and the increasing success of Indian firms in getting ANDA approval. With 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) permitted for health and medical services under the automatic route, there are already

• Max Healthcare India plans to develop 4 hospitals to increase 2,000 beds with further plans to increase its capacity to 5,000 beds in the next 5 years through mergers and acquisitions.

• The Hyderabad-based Global Hospitals Group plans to invest over Rs 500 crore to expand hospital network and improvise the facilities for cancer care centers.

• Vasan Healthcare to invest USD 65 million for new hospitals.

• Apollo Hospitals Group to increase beds capacity as well as develop 5 hospitals each year with 200 beds.

The Group also plans to develop a hospital in Kerala with an investment of amounted to US$35 million.

• Fortis International Centre for Robotic Surgery (ICRS) to invest USD 20 million for robotic surgery centres Further into internal developments, according to RNCOS, India’s share in the global medical tourism industry is expected to reach around 3 per cent by the end of 2013. Medical tourism is expected to generate revenue around US$ 3 billion by 2013 Opportunities for the AV industry include providing the following solutions for the Healthcare segment: *Digital Communications. Directions, health tips and health programmes can be screened on displays for patients in the waiting area. *TeleMedicine. Especially for a vast country like India, TeleMedicine solutions

would be a boon to the Healthcare professionals. *Video-Conferencing.

Useful for communication within Branch hospitals or across different divisions of a Hospital infrastructure. With Medical Tourism expected to grow, video-conferencing also offers visual communication between a patient and family members from anywhere in the globe. *AV Training solutions. Recording, streaming and playback solutions especially for trainees is an invaluable tool for the Healthcare industry. *Boardroom solutions.

Projectors, screens, displays, audio-conferencing solutions for Boardroom meetings and discussions. *PA communication systems. Integrated PA systems for communication, evacuation or even for BG music. *Control systems. Providing easy to use control systems to enhance productivity, especially for auditoriums, boardrooms and training rooms.

The third edition of Hospital Infrastructure India is expected to attract over 4000 decision makers and healthcare professionals. Previous editions have even seen Architects, Consultants, M&E professionals attend the exhibition. For the AV Industry this would be a unique opportunity to showcase how its solutions can be integrated in a Healthcare environment to improve productivity and services. www.hospitalinfra-india.com

31

32

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Integrate 2012 records growth in visitors

Integrate 2012, in association with InfoComm International, Australia’s largest audio visual and ICT event, has reaffirmed its position as the must-attend trade show for industry professionals, with strong visitor numbers, that according to Diversified Exhibitions Australia is up 19% over last year.

This year’s Integrate was moved to the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, which proved to be popular with both exhibitors and visitors. Its centrality and made-for exhibitions venue were an instant hit. Unlike last year, all the exhibitors were roofed at the same venue, which made it more lively.

Exhibitors also took the opportunity of the high ceilings to create impressive looking booths. Unfortunately, the euphoria will be short lived as the Exhibition Centre will be torn down for refurbishment after next year’s Integrate event.

Event organiser, Diversified Exhibitions Australia, has received an overwhelming response from this year’s participants.

Integrate 2013 has already re-signed over 2000 square metres of exhibiting space and due to high demand, is looking to expand next year’s show at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre in August 2013.

Katrina Power, Senior Marketing Manager – Channel at NEC Australia Pty Ltd, commented, “As an exhibitor it is very rare to feel the energy, buzz and excitement that was in evidence over the three days at Integrate. The event delivered great exposure for our brand and enabled NEC to showcase our new products and solutions to a quality industry audience.”

“We are delighted with the positive feedback we have received from the industry. Our decision to change venue in 2012 has paid dividends with this year’s event attracting more exhibitors and senior decision makers than in previous years,” said Mary Giugni, Exhibition Manager, Integrate 2012 at Diversified Exhibitions Australia.

Educational Seminars Hosted by InfoComm International and Diversified Exhibitions Australia, Integrate explored some of the most pressing topics affecting the industry through a series of educational seminars. Among the key trends dominating this sector included the implications of a ‘Network Centric’ era, AV asset management and how the consumerisation of IT is impacting Australian businesses.

Michael Harte, CIO ofThe Commonwealth Bank, was among the impressive line-up of speakers at this year’s show. Mr Harte commented on the major shift that the consumerisation of IT is having on the industry. Graham Hendry, Vice President of TC Group International, was also among some of the industry experts that spoke at this year’s event in the session ‘I can’t hear you - Making audio work well in business applications’. Patrick McComish, Business Development Manager at TeamBoard Australia, hosted

an education session discussing how virtualisation can reduce operating costs; while Laureen Jones, CTS Technology Solutions Manager at Te Papa Tongarewa, National Museum of New Zealand, presented an insiders guide for all-in-one management of an AV department.

Terry Coe, President of the Association of Educational Technology Managers (AETM) attended Integrate 2012 and commented, “Not only did Integrate provide AETM members with relevant products, knowledge and industry training; unlike other events, it proved extremely useful to the universitiy sector as all of the vendors at the event, are able to supply and support both the Australia and New Zealand markets.”

Show Floor On the show floor visitors had the chance to preview some of the latest AV and ICT equipment on the market from the industry’s leading brands including Hills SVL Group, Sony, AMX, NEC, Epson, Kramer and LG. This included video walls, digital signage, projectors, LCD, LED, e-learning boards, touchscreen solutions, audio mixing technology, lighting, audio, video conferencing equipment and more.

John Ungerer, Managing Director at Kramer Electronics Australia also stated, “Diversified Exhibitions has hosted a very professional event and one that is fast becoming the must-attend trade show for the AV industry. We received a lot of very positive feedback about the look and feel of our new stand, but it was the event itself that made our experience a real success.”

34

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Highlights ABtUS showcases a range of solutions

normal flat panel to become interactive.

Essentially it is able to retrofit a panel to make it interactive. The solution which incorporates Ebeam’s technology is perfect for SMEs who would like to upgrade to their current panels to an interactive solution! An example of how it worked was shown at the SONY booth, where a normal LCD panel from SONY was transformed into an interactive model with Chief’s interactive mount.

Epson highlights its iProjection app

www.chiefmfg.com AbtUS showcased a range of solutions at its booth that included its EduMedia Quick Installation Kit, CAT-5 Extender and Distribution Amplifier, Matrix Switcher and Presentation Scaler, Interface panels, Single and Dual Channel Multi Video Processing Box and Multimedia Scaler Switcher.

EAW’s Avalon makes its Australian debut

www.abtussingapore.com

Analog Way keeps faith with the Australian market

According to Analog Way’s William Roddes, the Australian market has continued to be progressive for the company. “The Axion 2, Eikos and Pulse products do very well in the rental & staging segment whereas the DiVenti X11 figures well in the integration market.

The exhibition has been good and we are glad to be present to showcase our solutions to the market,” says a pleased William. www.analogway.com

Chief showcases its shortthrow interactive range

C h i ef ’s inte racti ve short throw interactive mount solution enables a

The free wine and beer and the great entertainment at the Production Audio Video Technology booth was a fitting companion for the demonstration of the EAW Avalon speakers. The Avalon speakers are, after all, specifically targeted at the nightclubs and dance clubs that are able to appreciate the numerous ground breaking EAW technologies that form the core of the series. This includes advanced horn and phase-plug technologies found in EAW’s flagship KF700 Series line of concert loudspeakers.

Another technique employed to great effect is Tuned Dipolar Array (TDA), which provides the most focus control of low-frequency energy devised to this point.

Epson’s iProjection app enables users to connect their iOS device to a network, launch the app and select the projector, then all they need to do is select the document or photo to project. They can even control the projector. In short it allows anyone to present using their mobile iOS device without the need to lug around a projector. The Epson iProjection app is only applicable for Epson’s wireless projectors. The app is easy to use and navigate with intuitive menu options. www.epson.com.au

Hills SVL Group showcases its new brands portfolio

Sound Designer John Lyons vision for loudspeakers being capable of matching the captive audience on the dance floor, with output that is surrounding and encompassing, but without the “long throw” characteristics of PA loudspeakers has been achieved with the Avalon. John had collaborated with EAW and other top DJs and club sound professionals that brought about Avalon.

The AV division of Hills SVL Group has recently brought into its portfolio some of the world’s most recognisable brands Hitachi, Panasonic and projectiondesign.

The addition of these new brands combined with WolfVision, Samsung LFD and Hall Research enables Hills SVL Group to offer a comprehensive line up of quality AV solutions in the Australian & New Zealand market. The entire range of brands and solutions were on show at Integrate.

www.eaw.com

www.hillssvl.com.au

36

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Image Design Technology showcases solutions as part of Midwich Group

Image Design Technology appeared at this year’s Integrate as part of the Midwich Group from UK. IDT is one of Australia’s foremost providers of video and data display technology. With Midwich taking a controlling stake, IDT expects to further strengthen its position in Australia. (The full press release is in the News pages of this issue). IDT’s booth showcased solutions from Planar featuring their 32” transparent LED/ LCD technology that enables full HD resolution and colour accuracy as well as their passive 3D solutions; HaiVision’s Stingray IPTV, Makito HD Encoder and the Viper; Brightsign’s easy to use digital solutions and Magenta’s Multiview and Infinea solutions.

LG exhibits for the first time at Integrate

LG has had its presence in Australia for 17 years now, though its commercial division only took off 8 years ago.

Lawrence Hookkee, Commercial Sales Manager at LG Electronics Australia comments, “We give value to our customers with our solutions. It has indeed been heart warming to see how LG has grown over the years.” The booth showcased LG’s digital soltuions for corporates and the hospitality sector including Multi-touch solutions.

www.nationalaudio.com.au

NEC introduces NEC Live

www.lge.com

Mitsubishi showcases its 55” infrared touchscreen

www.idt.com.au

Kramer continues with its expansion

Other than the impressive booth that was neatly laid out to allow better interaction, John Ungerer, Managing Director at Kramer Electronics Australia also highlighted that they have added to their office space, which now provides them with a dedicated training room. This has also enabled the warehouse space to be doubled catering to their growing business in Australia. At the booth Kramer showcased its Digital Matrix Switchers, Room Connectivity solutions, Extenders, Cables, Scaling Solutions, Control and Boardroom Solutions.

NAS, comments, “We did independent testing of Tendzone’s solutions and they came up favourably. This gave us confidence in signing an agreement with Tendzone in June for distribution rights for Australia and New Zealand. It provides excellent value for its features.”

Representing and showcasing solutions from d&b Audiotechnik, Midas, Cloud, Klark Teknik, Presonus, Proel and others, James feels that the company is in an excellent position to provide complete solutions for budget as well as mission control projects. Also on exhibit was NAS’ own prototype amplifiers branded as InDesign featuring 30, 60, 120 and 24o watts with 4 channel input.

According to Mistubishi Australia there is a market demand for a faceup touch screen. Mitsubishi expects to introduce the dual touch infrared touchscreen in different sizes other than the 55” seen at the show. This will include the 32”, 42”, 46” and 65” models. Also on exhibit was Mitsubishi’s 55” and 70” LED Backlit Public displays, featuring Network connectivity and Super resolution technology.

Running a number of displays at the NEC booth, was NEC’s proprietary software, NEC Live. NEC Live is a suite of applications that allows you to create dynamic content, intelligently trigger schedule and distribute. In short it is a content management system that also features ready made templates for ease of use. On exhibit were also the 46” and 55” NEC touch screens that are bundled with NEC Live. www.nec.com.au

Panasonic showcases projector with digital link

www.mitsubishielectric.com.au

National Audio Systems brings Tendzone to the Australian market

www.krameraustralia.com.au

In short, Tendzone offers digital audio processing solutions. James Ritter from

Panasonic’s PT-VW431D enables high quality digital transmission over a single Cat 5e/6 cable based on HDBaseT. The PT-VW431D, has high brightness of 4,300 lumens and WXGA resolution all in a compact body. The PT-VW431D is designed to bring a whole new experience of long distance, digital connection with extremely clean wiring.

Panasonics Digital Link, based on Valens HDBaseT technology, is built

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

into the PT-VW431D for easy and simple digital connection of HDMI, other full uncompressed HD videos, audio and control commands all via a single Cat5e/6 LAN cable. These signals can be transmitted up to 100m 328ft.

Used together with the new ET-YFB100 switcher box, or other switchers with HDBaseT chipset, the installation of this projector is easier than ever without any need for external receivers. www.panasonic.com.au

PositV exhibits custom enclosures

innovative SymNet platform. Radius may be installed as a standalone processor or used in conjunction with SymNet Edge or third party Dante™ network-enabled devices to achieve the scalability and flexibility needed to meet the specifications of the simplest to the most complex installations. The SymNet Radius 12×8 includes ARC-WEB, a simple, yet powerful, browser-based user-control technology, compatible with Apple and Android smartphones and tablets.

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Sharp showcases its 80” LCD panel

www.productionaudio.com.au

projectiondesign switches to Hills SVL

PositV showcased its Australian manufactured custom enclosures for LCD panels and even the iPAD. Much thought has gone into manufacturing the enclosures taking into consideration, connectivity spaces for USB or Network cables, security, and cooling off space.

The outdoor enclosures are weather proof as well. The iPAD stand is tough enough to ensure that it does not get knocked off easily. Space for the iPAD audio outlet was cleverly integrated into the stand as well. www.positivmedia.com

Production Audio Video Technology features world premier of Symetrix Radius

June this year saw projectiondesign switch distributor to Hills SVL. According to Jason Coy of projectiondesign, Hills SVL provides the advantage of having a greater reach in Australia, including dedicated support. “With this arrangement, it allows me to concentrate on the simulation aspect of the business, which is more technical in nature, whereas Hills will be able to support the other aspects of projectiondesign’s business.” The fact that Hills SVL has an office in Canberra is an added incentive as reaching out to the Military and other Government organisations will be smoother.

With spectacular 80” class screen size, 24/7 reliability and energy efficient fullarray LED backlight, the PN-E802 is designed to meet the rigours of most commercial display or digital signage application. Add this to Sharp’s UV2A photo alignment technology, full 1920 x 1080 HD resolution and integrated slot for optional media player, you have one of the largest, highest performing and most flexible displays in the industry. www.sharp.net.au

Techmedia showcases signage interactivity with mobile devices

www.projectiondesign.com

Samsung showcases its Square Monitor

Before you say who, Production Audio Video Technology (PAVT) was formerly known as Production Audio Services. The change in name reflects the company’s involvement in both audio and video segments.

PAVT took the distinction of being the first in the world to showcase the Symetrix Radius. The Radius 12×8, is a Dante™networkable, fixed I/O, open-architecture digital signal processor expanding the

First seen at InfoComm USA, Samsung showcased its UD22B Square shaped monitor, which is apparently the first square monitor in the world. It works with Samsung’s magic software and offers creative opportunities for abstract wall configurations. Also on exhibit was the Samsung BL22B transparent display and other displays from the LED BLU (Backlit LCD) range.

Techmedia’s visual communication focus is centred around Digital Content and Services Platforms driving the growth in Connected Signage and DOOH. Featuring Scala-based network deployment and management, Techmedia showcased its ability to integrate digital signage content management systems with mobile interactivity such as NFC options to heighten interactivity for the user.

As an example, the booth had items featuring NFC codes, which when used with an NFC enabled mobile device, screened specific information about the product onto the screen.

www.samsunglfd.com

www.connectedsignage.com.au

37

10 edition

th

A joint venture partnership of

Connect. Communicate. Construct.

At ISE 2013, come fact-to-face with new products from over 800 exhibitors showing dozens of AV, media and control technologies. Add new lines to your portfolio, get fresh inspiration for your projects and embrace the ideas that enable smarter working, building and living.

Find out more. www.iseurope.org

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Wilson Gilkes introduces AMX mounted lectern

VR Solution showcases Christieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AutoStack solution

In collaboration with AMX, Wilson Gilkes featured at its booth a custom made lectern featuring an AMX 19â&#x20AC;? Modero control panel. Nicely ďŹ&#x201A;ushed at the top half of the lectern top, it enables easy and intuitive control for the presenter. The builtin camera within the AMX panel can also be easily turned on for conferencing possibilities. Everything that needs to be controlled is easily segmented within the AMX control thus ensuring ease of use. For Wilson Gilkes, this collaboration enables them to provide an added value lectern to their customers which is stylishly ďŹ nished and practical.

On exhibit at the VR Solution booth, was Christie Digitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AutoStack Version 2 solution. AutoStack enables up to 3 x 2 matrix projectors to be synchronised to provide a seamlessly blended projection. The solution features the Spider software and requires a camera (which comes with the package) to capture the images in order to enable the blending to be done automatically. This is especially great when any re-setting is necessary as it takes stress of the test and try method of manually getting the images to align and not to mention reducing the time taken. The key feature would be the fact that Version 2 is able to handle curved screens as well!

39

www.wilsongilkes.com.au www.christiedigital.com Integrate 2013 will be held from the 27 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 29 August 2013 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. www.integrate-expo.com

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

INDIA & ME NEWS

Actis unveils gesture control solutions for India Inc. slides in a presentation, control video walls in a network operations centre (NOC), operate multiple screens in a security surveillance system, browse through screens at a lobby or digital cafeteria and manoeuvre screens at a Stock exchange. Actis is employing technologies like Kinect (Microsoft) to provide the solutions and are already in the process of completing some maiden installations.

Abhimanyu Gupta, Director, Actis Technologies

INDIA: Mumbai-based AVSI major Actis Technologies unveiled what it calls the gesture control solutions for corporate India. Gesture control is a current trend technology that interprets human gestures via mathematical algorithms into commands and functions. The technology which is at a nascent stage worldwide, will be finding its way into Indian boardrooms via the Actis initiative, says the company.

According to the company, the solution will enable gestures to move

Abhimanyu Gupta, Director at Actis Technologies, says: “It is widely anticipated that gesture controls will eventually replace the touch screen interface as we know it today. The technology already has its presence in the gaming industry, but the wide possibilities of gesture control commercially are still untapped. Indian businesses are rapidly adopting new technologies and we see huge potential for the technology in India especially in operations that deal with huge amounts of data like software companies, stock exchanges, educational institutes, research laboratories, biotech firms, news and media house, security companies, etc.”

According to him, the technology, as the name suggests, is not only user friendly but also cost-effective. Gestures can originate from any bodily motion or state

but commonly originate from the face or hand. Devices using gesture control do not require any hardware inputs like a mouse or a keyboard and work with great efficiency. The solutions provided

by Actis promises low latency rate, high flexibility and customization.

“Our presence in technologies like videoconferencing, unified communications, interactive training solutions, security surveillance systems among others give us an edge in providing the gesture control solutions,” says Abhimanyu. “We have received tremendous response from our clients, including MNCs and Indian software giants where installations are currently under way, making it one of the first implementations of the technology in India Inc.” www.actis.co.in

Gesture Control

AGC achieves Microsoft Gold Partnership–Communications competency INDIA: Mumbai-based global ICT solutions provider AGC Networks announced the attainment of ‘Microsoft Gold Partnership – Communications’ competency.This demonstrates the ‘bestin-class’ ability and commitment to meet Microsoft Corp. customers’ evolving needs in today’s dynamic business environment and distinguishing itself within the top 1 percent of Microsoft’s partner ecosystem.

To earn a Microsoft Gold Partnership competency, partners must successfully clear a particular set of examinations (resulting in Microsoft Certified Professionals) to prove their level of technology expertise, and then designate these certified professionals uniquely to one Microsoft competency, ensuring a certain level of staffing capacity. They also must submit customer references that demonstrate successful projects (along with implementing a yearly

customer satisfaction study) and pass technology and/or sales assessments.

All of the above were successfully showcased by AGC towards achieving this competency.

“AGC Networks has shared an excellent relationship with Microsoft for over a year now. This commendable recognition from Microsoft has further created an assurance about AGC Networks’ proficiency as an ‘experience’ provider while profiling our expertise and commitment to today’s highly advanced communication’s market. It also further strengthens the partnership between AGC Networks and Microsoft,” said Sanjeev Verma, President-Global Sales and Business Operations, at AGC Networks. “This recognition further reinforces our efforts to accelerate our customers’ success by serving them as technology advisors for their various communications needs and demands.”

“Microsoft is confident of two important aspects. Growth in the communications domain and AGC contributing majorly in strengthening Microsoft’s India presence in the communications domain,” added Sathya Prasad Rai, General Manager, SMS&P, Microsoft Corporation India.

“AGC Networks has deep expertise that puts them in the top quartile percent of our partner ecosystem in the region, and their proficiency will help customers drive innovative solutions on the latest Microsoft technologies.”

The Microsoft Partner Network helps partners strengthen their capabilities to showcase leadership in the marketplace on the latest technology, to better serve customers and, with 640,000 Microsoft partners in their ecosystem, to easily connect with one of the most active, diverse networks in the world. www.agcnetworks.com

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INDIA & ME NEWS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Revolabs conducts training programme in Bengaluru Manager-South India M. Venugopal also joined for the day to interact with the participants.

Revolabs India has got its own foot print with strong distributor-reseller networks and aggressive sales, marketing and ‘go to market’ strategies in the region. The audio major regularly conducts such programmes in order to continuously and consistently keep its network professionally strong.

INDIA: Wireless audio solutions major, Revolabs, recently organized in Bengaluru a certification training programme to augment the skill sets of its pre-sales, project and design staff and partners in the South India region.

Over 100 participants from across the region took part in the one-day training programme conducted by N.S. Prasad, Revolabs Technical Head for India and Middle East. The interactive sessions that marked the programme covered subjects like audio basics, product features, and applications.

The attendees were also detailed about Revolabs’ revolutionary wireless conference phone features and its versatile applications as an executive desktop phone as well as conference phone.

An important aspect of the programme, was on how Revolabs solutions provide peace of mind to the customer and the integrator by providing perfect audio quality at lesser execution cost and time.

www.revolabs.com

Revolabs’ Country Head for India and Middle East Roshan Gupta, and Regional

DIS-Partners close prestigious deals in Qatar Headquarters. During a site visit in September, Regional Sales Manager, Jan Villumsen, had the opportunity to meet the two CGC Pre sales Managers Vikas Shrivastava and Rajesh Kumar.

Although the location is still under construction it was interesting for DIS to see the auditorium where the DCS 6000 system will be installed in a few months. “During our Qatar business trip we’ve visited several DIS-Partners and it seems that the number of projects in Qatar is steadily increasing. And with our well trained partner network we’ll be well prepared for new challenges”, Jan Villumsen states. www.dis.cc Division Manager Roland Obeid of DARWISH Technology with Area Sales Manager Chris Hellmuth of DIS

QATAR: DARWISH Technology as well as Consolidated Gulf Company have both recently closed prestigious project deals for DIS in Doha, Qatar.

DARWISH Technology will supply four DCS 6000 Digital Conference Systems to the Faculty of Islamic Studies. While one room will be equipped with 300 flush-mount units FD 6121, 4-channel digital IR language distribution for all delegates and an extensive SW 6000 software package, three other rooms will have a total of 115 pieces of DC 6120P

microphone units on the table. Area Sales Manager, Chris Hellmuth, DIS, and Division Manager, Roland Obeid of DARWISH Technology state “DARWISH Technology has quoted DIS products various times before and now been rewarded for it. Therefore we are very happy that patience on both sides has paid off as this project is the biggest order for DIS from Qatar this year”.

Consolidated Gulf Company (CGC) will deliver a 4-channel digital IR system with 250 receivers to the Traffic & Patrol

Regional Sales Manager Jan Villumsen with CGC Pre sales Managers Vikas Shrivastava and Rajesh Kumar.

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INDIA & ME NEWS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

IME pros mark ClearOne’s APac Partners Conference in Bangkok INDIA: Audio-visual solutions giant, ClearOne Communications Inc., recently organised its 2012 Asia Pacific Partners Conference in Bangkok. Held at the Grand Millennium Hotel in the Thai capital, the three-day conference was attended by over 70 leading system integrators, AV distribution partners and other professionals working with ClearOne solutions.

Ideas Ahead, HCL Infosystems, and PeopleLink have been accorded with the ‘Award of Excellence’ for achieving the highest sales and handling large project integration categories for 2011 for the India region.

ClearOne’s, Senior Director-Sales, David Wang welcomed the participants while the company’s President and CEO Zee Hakimoglu inaugurated the programme.

“The conference had a significant number of participants from India and Middle East regions,” PS Tiwari, ClearOne’s Regional Sales Manager for India and Middle East, told SIA. According to him, Taxan Gulf, Green Sources, Skycom, ProFx, Enkay, Godrej, Siemens and Ideas Ahead were some of the important participants from India and ME.

Appraising the participants of ClearOne’s achievements during the year that went by, Zee said their getting into video communication domain has vastly improved the business opportunities.

“Our strategic video technology acquisitions opened market opportunity by 10 folds,” she said, adding, “we now need to build and capitalize on that.”

The most notable feature of the event was that Taxan Gulf and Saudi Media System were honoured with the ‘Award of Excellence’ for the year 2011 for the Middle East Region. On the other hand, Indian enterprises Green Sources Pvt Ltd., Godrej and Boyce Ltd., ProFx,

ClearOne’s VP-Global Video and International Sales, exhorted the attendees about the ClearOne Ecosystem and go-to-market strategies.The company Director-PLM, Bala Krishnamohan made a detailed presentation of Collaborate Video Conferencing products while another

Director-PLM, Duari Ramchandran presented on Beam forming Microphone array. www.clearone.com

Techno Q named Polycom Gold Choice partner QATAR: Doha-based leading AV solutions integrator, Techno Q, has been named by Polycom, Inc. as a Gold Level Polycom Choice Partner for Qatar.

It’s the first time Techno Q has been accorded with the honour by the videoconferencing major.

The honour, however, was also accorded to FVC, Polycom’s chosen distributor for the Qatar region.The Gold Level accreditation is given to Techno Q in

recognition of its efforts to keep itself abreast with the global trends and expertise standards as also the goto-market capabilities. As Polycom is an aggressive player in the field of unified communications, it requires its partners to meet its standards that includes a multi-discipline expertise. The Program emphasizes skills development, specialization, and other value added activities that help polycom solutions

users experience the true benefit of the systems they use.

Polycom’s Choice Partner Programme is part of the ambitious Polycom Partner Network initiative, an extensive ecosystem of around 7,000 channel and alliance partners. The Network boasts reaching over a 400,000-strong customer base across the globe. www.technoq.com

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The new d&b xS and xA-Series loudspeakers are real integration systems for installations. With a full complement of loudspeakers and subwoofers ranging from the very small and medium stand-alone cabinets to the PHGLXP VL]HG DUUD\DEOH YHUVLRQV WKH\ EULQJ WRWDO YHUVDWLOLW\ WR WKH VSHFLĂ&#x20AC;HU or installer. X is White, the other Black range from d&b.

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INDIA & ME NEWS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Electrosonic promotes Sarah Joyce to Vice-President EMEA HR and account management makes her a natural candidate for the position.

Besides heading up the EMEA Leadership Team, Sarah’s core role will be to develop and execute the Electrosonic strategy across the EMEA region, oversee its operations and develop the long term growth strategy for both the service and managed services businesses.

EMEA: Global AV solutions major Electrosonic announced the promotion of Sarah Joyce to Vice-President for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Sarah was previously employed as General Manager Human Resources, EMEA. Her promotion follows Ilari Anttila’s decision to leave the company to return to his home country of Finland.

Sarah has also been appointed to the company’s global Executive Board.

Sarah’s 16 years’ of experience within the audio-visual industry together with her five years at Electrosonic Ltd in sales,

“Sarah brings with her a proven track record of managing AV services. During her time at Electrosonic, she has been fundamental in developing new company initiatives and strategies to ensure Electrosonic remains at the forefront of its business,” commented Jim Bowie, President of the Electrosonic Group.

“She possesses the skills, knowledge and drive to grow our core businesses and deliver a high value service to our clients. The entire Executive Board backed this decision and concluded Sarah is the right person to successfully lead Electrosonic Ltd into the future.”

“I am delighted to take on the position of Vice-President EMEA,” commented Sarah Joyce. “My AV career to-date has provided me with the insight and vision to lead our company. I am looking forward to working with the Executive Board, the EMEA Leadership Team and my Electrosonic colleagues, to ensure our range of services to clients remain at

the competitive edge of our industry, and we continue to partner with them in their further development and international expansion.”

Sarah has a long history within the AV industry where she has worked for a wide range of AV companies in a variety of disciplines, including general management, sales, business development, product marketing and human resources.

Sarah began her career with Electrosonic in 2001 as Product Marketing Manager/ Business Development Manager, responsible for the development of the corporate market programme. Sarah then worked as a consultant to a number of AV companies and later as the Executive Director and Company Secretary for ‘Meeting Without Moving Foundation’, a UK not-for-profit organisation where she promoted the business benefits of video conferencing and engaging public affairs.

Prior to rejoining Electrosonic in 2010, Sarah was a Company Director of Multimedia Group (DRV), where she was part of the executive team. Following Electrosonic’s acquisition of DRV, Sarah led the integration of the DRV businesses into Electrosonic. www.electrosonic.com

Barco India debuts MVL, Clickshare solutions Visualization solutions leader, Barco, has launched its latest video wall solution in India. At the grand launch event, organized in the Indian national capital New Delhi on 14 September, the company showcased its recentlylaunched OverView M Series (MVL) and meeting room solution, the one-click wonder, ClickShare.

Around one hundred professionals from the visualization industry attended the event to be amazed by the appeal of the new and sophisticated visual solution.

Barco simultaneously launched a countrywide roadshow initiative to aggressively promote the new solution. The roadshow will be organized in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Jamshedpur and Noida in the next couple of months. According to the company, the dates and other details of the event will be released soon.

The launch event apparently awed the gathering of industry professionals and top officials from public sector enterprises.Those who attended included officials from Power Grid Corporation of India, Bharat Electricals Ltd., National

Thermal Power Corporation Ltd., North Delhi Power Ltd., Jaypee Group, Axis Communication, Gas Authority of India Ltd., and Ministry of Railways. They were given a complete demonstration of the solution thus enabling them understand its full features and functions.

MVL is Barco’s industry-standard video wall solution for control rooms. It is equipped with a Sense5 automatic white point and full color calibration system which ensures uniformity of color and brightness levels. Barco’s unique liquid cooling system also greatly reduces the temperature of the LEDs, resulting in a significantly longer LED lifetime.

ClickShare is Barco’s latest revolutionary solution for meeting rooms. As the name implies, the solution makes connecting the meeting room’s display system a matter of just clicking a button, thereby solving some of the most critical issues commonly bothering meeting room environments. ClickShare also allows others in the meeting to participate more actively. The result is enhanced meeting efficiency and better decision-making.

Abel Garamhegyi

“We are proud to introduce the MVL series in India, and hope to see the product in various applications,” said Abel Garamhegyi, vice-president (Growth Markets EMEAI) and Managing Director for India at Barco, when launching the solution. “The upcoming roadshows across the country will give us a better understanding of market demands and directions. We look forward to teaming up with partners to develop the market, and provide more professional and close-to-customerneeds system solutions.” www.barco.com

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INDIA & ME CONSULTANT’S SAY

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Bringing quality expertise consistently As part of the IME Consultants Speak initiative, commenced with the last issue (Aug-Sept 2012), SIA, presents the second perspective- from Vineet Singh, Director at Hewshott India. Hewshott India – part of the the UK-headquartered global AV consultancy major Hewshott International – has made a mark of its own on the Indian AVSI industry since its inception roughly over two-and-half years ago. Promising to impart the ‘renowned Hewshott expertise’ to projects in India, the consultancy firm also boasts about being the only firm credited with ISO 9001 Accreditation.

It is difficult to find the right expertise in the given scenario. However, one of the silver lining of the industry is that there is a niche market for quality projects in quantum and in scale. The rightly informed clients are not compromising on the quality of design and install which is reflected in the increasing budgets allocated for AV by some big enterprises today. As long as the costs of using a specific technology are justified with reference to the application, clients are willing to pay the premium price for superior solution.

SIA: Has the emergence of MNC establishments been a contributing factor to the growth of AVSI industry in the country?

SIA: What is your view of the state of Indian AVSI industry today?

VINEET: I would say it’s a mix of many things.The industry is growing, no doubt, but along with some challenges. The Old School practices still persist due to which the changing trends in the global domain are often sidelined. While the ability to harness cutting-edge technologies do exist, the same is not often practised.

However, the acceptance level for AV as a specialized field has increased, and the end user today is rising to acknowledge AV as a skill domain- which is why there is an increasing willingness to invest in quality solutions and services.

On the other hand, this willingness for superior technology and services has resulted in an intense demand for increased numbers of skilled and certified professionals which is, sadly, not up to the mark. While there are no adequate training institutes or academies for imparting AV skills, the industry doesn’t work to its cause in this regard as most companies do not invest in training on a regular basis. The project managers and project engineers sadly do not have the qualifications to be termed as a PM or PE.

SIA: So, it’s a big set of challenges?

VINEET: In a sense, it is. For, while there are increased opportunities to access newer technologies, there isn’t enough awareness across the ecosystem to access them. Expertise to use technology is one associated challenge.

VINEET: Multinational enterprises setting up their large bases in the country have definitely contributed to the cause of AVSI industry in the country.

That they normally come with large scale requirement of high-end solutions and with international expertise and exposure it does help the domestic AV solutions providers to get into reckoning and thereby into the spiral of dynamism.

It helps develop a new positive and proactive approach among the players.

The standard that MNC enterprises have been practising and implementing is being more widely accepted here in India, and it has definitely brought in a positive outlook towards system design and install.

SIA: Would you associate ITES and AVSI in any aspect? if so, what are the areas that are similar or overlapping?

VINEET: As the industry is gradually adapting to the new technological developments, there has been an increasing use of information technology, clearly leading to the convergence of AV and IT. With a growing synergy between the two domains, and large IT enterprises finding AV as an effective avenue to expand as well as consolidate their businesses, there is a big amalgamation happening out there. Smaller AV players are either merging with the bigger players or are catering to a niche market or are being taken over by the IT. This has led to alliances and concentration between companies hitherto involved in different sectors of the economy such as IT, broadcasting and telecommunication.

There may not be a direct link between AV and IT, but are areas playing common to both of them.

SIA: Would you be able to quantify the worth of Indian AVSI industry?

VINEET: I think the Indian AV industry is well worth over at least Rs.1000-crore industry, and it is growing at a significant pace.

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

SIA: Not many AVSI equipment manufacturers are setting up direct presence in the countrywhat could be the reasons for this?

VINEET: The taxation and compliance policies in India are considered draconian by most manufacturerswhich is a big deterrent for them to set up a base in India. The regulations do not make it easy for any foreign company to have smooth operations in India. Having said that the STPI and EPCG policies have helped many OEMs reduce their risks of businesses by duty-free imports and eased out market access routes.

With the advent of SEZs in the country this is becoming an increasing trend.

Many AVSI manufacturers have off shore bases to facilitate easier transaction throughout the ecosystem- suppliers, consultants/integrators and end-users.

SIA: Would manufacturers’ making their direct presence here help the cause of the industryeither directly or indirectly?

VINEET: Yes, this will certainly bring about a whole big change in the whole

INDIA & ME CONSULTANT’S SAY

industry scenario. The SLAs will be much simpler, and the downtime can be significantly reduced with the technical support becoming locally available from the OEMs. Additionally, the awareness on the technology from the manufacturers will be much higher, and training in those processes can be availed of locally- significantly bridging the gap between the manufacturers, and their takers which is a benefit to all the stake-holders of the industry.

9001 accreditation in India. Consistent, exceptional and innovative design and engineering concepts is what the market is craving for and Hewshott India is taking smaller, surer and stronger steps towards providing that.

SIA: How has Hewshott contributed to the cause of the industry in the region?

What specific initiatives?

SIA: What is the way forward for the industry?

VINEET: Hewshott entered India at a time when there were already key consultants in the market. The market henceforth was deemed to be aware and educated on the technology. However, it might not have pursued it the right way.

Unfortunately, commercial interests have always been a superseding factor in this price conscious region impacting the quality factor. The need was, and still is, to bring in a uniform and superior quality and support with increased consistency. Hewshott endeavours to achieve the same and is arguably the only consultancy firm to have an ISO

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Taking note of our design expertise and documentation through our projects, the Indian market has acknowledged Hewshott as a credible player here to stay and make a difference.

VINEET: Avenues for growth have opened up in a significant manner; capitalization and consolidation will be the key in the coming months. It’s time everyone took note of the impending developments, and take the imperative measures to stay in the changing dynamic. www.hewshott.com

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INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

A ‘Genesis’ of technology Integration

at Zayed University Enabling E bli academic d i excellence ll audio-visually di i ll

By Ram Bhavanashi Zayed University – the newest of the three government sponsored institutions of higher learning in the UAE – is also acclaimed to be the most technologically up-todate institution in the country.

Ambitious in size, scale and vision, the university campus in Abu Dhabi stands for some of the most awesome technology exploits in education in the Arab region, if not the world. In this Special Edition focused on the Middle East, SIA presents an exclusive: Education is a really big thing in the Middle East, and when it comes to government focus on sophisticated infrastructure; their spending on incorporating latest technology-powered means and methodologies, it’s arguably nothing less than awesome. While financial strength to spend splendidly is one, the seriousness and vision the administrations put into the cause is something very unique to the region.

A few years back in time, we heard and were awed by the KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology); a few months ago we were amazed about the UAEU (United Arab Emirates University); now we are astounded at the third and newest campus of Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.

Built on a sprawling site of 18.8 hectares at Khalifa City in Abu Dhabi, the new campus is the grandest extension of the university founded 11 years ago by the Founder of United Arab Emirates late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Today, the university not only bears the name of its founder, but also stands for his grand vision: beacon of science, knowledge and bridge between cultures; prepare male and female leaders who will provide knowledge and abilities to the nation for a future of quality and progress.

As if to be a fitting tribute to this vision, the new campus not only boasts a state-of-the-art academic and research infrastructure created in accordance

with highest international standards in building universities and research centres, but also a harmonious blend of traditional and contemporary architecture, highlighting the national identity and architectural heritage of the UAE. Designed by the famed Teheran-born German architect Hadi Teherani, the new university campus is apparently an exploration of human genius, by design and purpose. Playing demonstrative role, among many things, is its ambitious audio-visual systems integration.

Consider the expanse As many as 505 install areas comprising of 215 classrooms; 123 meeting rooms; conference and video conferencing rooms; 78 laboratories; 69 miscellaneous rooms comprising seminar and presentation rooms, multi purpose rooms, clubrooms, breakout rooms and dining halls; and 16 case rooms. Sitewide systems for video-conferencing; lecture capture and streaming; digital signage - over a hundred digital displays

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS

(LG and Samsung), including two jumbo LED screens measuring over 20 square meters each. Several thousands of IP addresses specific to each technology used; Playback of sessions on iPads and even web-enabled mobiles, and much much more.

In all, three main campuses, 28 buildings, a sports complex and a 1000-seat convention centre, besides a residential complex make up the university site created at a whopping cost of 3 billion AED (over US$ 816 million!).

The honours of installing such an AV set-up were accorded to the UAEbased Genesis Integration who came onboard in 2010, with approximately 12 months to go for the scheduled commissioning in July 2011. As per their typical style, Genesis Integration used technology from premier, worldrenowned manufacturers. In order to ensure that the longevity and reduced maintenance requirements for this mammoth facility were met, Genesis relied mainly on manufacturers with high AV credentials, the majority of which were from Europe, North America, Japan and Korea.

The install The first, and among the most fascinating features to begin with in the campus is the promenade display system. Hung approximately 9 meters above the extreme entrances, on either side of the promenade are two gigantic LED screens measuring over 5m x 4m each. Each screen is actually fixed in a huge aluminium grid of 10 x 4 panels posing a unique look to the ambience.

Containing the latest SMD LED chips for lighting, the screens are powered by central Scala Content Management System for beaming multimedia rich diverse content to the students, faculty and visitors.

Tony Abou Jawad, Director at Genesis Integration

The multimedia and environmental controls are programmed into hundreds of Crestron units while the DVI switching and VGA equalization is done

by Extron units. The library and sitting areas also feature 65-inch and, in some places, even larger flat panel displays.

Two pairs of Tannoy Q-Flex 40 active column speakers project the required level of audio through the promenade.

Another interesting AV feature is that apart from a host of direct learning setups in both the male and female and

central campuses, there are as many as 33 Distance Learning classes across the university equipped by a site-wide Polycom HD video-conferencing infrastructure. “The interesting feature here is that all this High Definition video conferencing is controlled, monitored and scheduled centrally by the university’s IT staff,” informs Tony Abou Jawad, Director at Genesis Integration. Tony, who was involved in the project install from start-tofinish, says that while the system itself is pretty unique, the brilliance of the IT staff has made the infrastructure look more wonderful. “A remote lecturing facility like this, offers students access to the world’s thought leaders,” Abou Jawad says, adding “the system abets the creative brilliance of lecturers and professors involved to spread their knowledge without the inconvenience of leaving their base, or home city.”

Several lecture theatres, particularly those in the central campus are like large venues with a seating capacity of 400 students. Since they often receive lectures in foreign languages from outside the country, they required an effective, networked language interpretation system in place. Handling the task elegantly is the DIS interpretation system that is equipped with as many as 150 DIS wireless headsets and control systems. These systems are used, along with translators, to translate the entire session, which can also be recorded and played back as and when required.

Another incredible feature of the install is the video and digital capturing of important lectures and interactive sessions, which is handled by an integrated network of Haivision encoders and servers. As soon as the live streaming and a simultaneously automated recording of lectures is over, a catalogue of classes is created and uploaded to the campus “cloud” to

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INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

necessity for today’s social media, podcasting and production of student projects,” Tony elaborates, “it’s part of the university administration’s vision for the project, and a brief for the install.

The install, therefore, not only makes the campus facilities harness every bit of technology for experiencing the academic learning but also stay futureproof.”

A Challenge met head-on and won The execution of the install spanned 12 months, and Genesis had to generate and modify in excess of 3000 technical and plan drawings for completing the huge array of jobs.

facilitate later streaming to students at home or in the campus library.

“This is an enabling technology,” vouches the Genesis Director. “The use of tools such as this phenomenally increases a student’s ability to understand, retain and re-use the course information,” he elaborates, “this in turn contributes to better performance of the students in academics and their understanding of technology increases.” According to him, the lecture capture facility has been incorporated across the distance learning classrooms, advance computer labs, case rooms, conference rooms and video conference rooms - thereby widening the ‘net’ for imbibing ‘stored’ knowledge for ‘n’ number of instances and groups.

“Playback on PCs, tablets similar to Apple’s “iPAD” or even cell phone screens make learning and paper writing incredibly efficient,” he says, adding that this is what the enabling technology can do.

The Convention Centre on the campus is yet another case in point for incredible play of technology. The vast multi purpose halls in the Centre have been equipped with cutting-edge technology systems for audio-visual communications, ranking them among the best conferencing destinations in the world. “The infrastructure incorporated here is so advanced, that it is leased by

industry and government organizations for conferences and events that have nothing to do with the day to day academics that take place at the university,” informs Tony.

Fittingly enough, by the time this feature is keyed in, the Centre would have been hosting an Arab League of Ministers of Education Conference in its multi purpose halls.

“The largest quantity of AV systems resides in classrooms, case-rooms and labs running into multiples of hundreds,” explains the Genesis Director. “A plethora of Smart interactive whiteboards, and augmented sound systems are rendered controllable from the teachers’ desks while a diverse band of projection brands; a wide array of projection screens; and document cameras are automated to participate in and enhance the teaching/learning experience.”

According to the Genesis SI Exec, the company had to post close to 100 people on-site at the peak of work, racking over 400 AV racks, detailing thousands of IP addresses specific to each technology, etc. The most important, however, was coordinating with “other” services such as lighting, alarms, energy saving systems, BMS systems, HAVC and the ELV network. The last phase of the install was a literal climax with huge truckloads of furniture arriving on-site, and the integrator-installer had to make final choices and changes to dozens of specifications on-site.

“Some might find it interesting that, for reasons of health and safety, during the searing summer time heat, we had to work only in night shift mode to be able to safeguard our workforce from the Desert temperatures, while remaining productive,” explains Tony. “Most of our team members might not have seen a full day for a good two months.”

Enabling technology demands

Understandably, the install involved massive quantities of Crestron control systems; Extron switchers/transmitters; Sony HD suites; Vaddio, Qomo, and Wolfvision HD cameras; JBL speakers; Beyerdynamic and Shure mics, besides sizeable numbers of Yamaha, QSC and Australian Monitor equipment; BiAmp mixers and DSPs.

While this band of challenges on-site might sound like it is enough to put people off the AV contracting industry, it was necessary to make sure all systems were up and running in time for class, says the Genesis Director. “It was very tight,” he admits, due to the compulsion to deliver in time for the semester, with all the training and on-going maintenance, as well as on-site support.

The campus also houses a broadcast “Media Lab” using the latest cameras, lighting and editing suites. “It’s a

The campus administration and the integrator are apparently happy that the project had been accomplished in

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INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS adherence with the vision and mission - that they have worked together to put in place ‘enabling technologies’ to help the teaching and student community optimize their presentation and learning experience.

“The whole digital environment surrounding the students is sculpted to make them feel they are moving

AV Gear - The A-Y at Zayed University Audipack - Motorized projector lift Australian Monitor - 80W x 4-channel amp; 400W x 100v 2-channel amp Bi-Amp - Audio mixers with DSPs & Cobranet Canare - cables Canford - Rackback half width 6U; connection plate for small audio Christie - 8000-lumen projectors; standard zoom lens Crestron - mixers; equalizers; wireless touch panels; motion detectors; control processors; system interfaces; EMS; lecturn/table mount kits & docking stations Crown - amps for ceiling mounted speakers D-Link - 8-port Ethernet switch for audio mixers Da-Lite - 16:9 motorized screens + LVC, ranging from 77”-275” DIS - Conferencing and language interpretation systems Extron - Switchers; transmitters; receivers of diverse models Gefen - Transmitter/receiver pairs; extenders Genelec - Studio speakers Haivision - Video and digital capturing JBL - self-powered, wall & ceiling mounted speakers of diverse sizes and models Lastolite - Chromakey curtain backgrounds LG - LCD panels; full HD monitors; display screens; DVD/VCR combos; BluRay players

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

at the pace of electrons that light up their networks,” quips an excited Tony.

“Everything being in digital format elevates the new Zayed University campus content to the level required of today’s mass Social Media engagement one might find in Stanford University, where it all started.” www.genesis-si.com/en

Mitsubishi - 5000 ANSI projectors NEC- Digital projectors; full HD displays Neutrik - XLR Chassis; bulkhead connectors Polycom - Teleconferencing & video conference systems Qomo - Document cameras QSC - Wall-mount speakers; 2-channel amps Roland - 16-channel digital audio mixers Samsung - LCD panels Scala - Digital signage player + IMAP player; InfoChannel Players Smart - Interactive electronic whiteboards SMD – LED screens, drivers Sonace - MP3 docking stations Sony - HD-SDI & CCD pan/tilt zoom cameras; LCDs, monitors, HDV/DVD recorders; DVIs; handheld & neck wireless microphones; remote control units; Shure - wireless handheld microphone, wireless lavelier mics, boundary mics; ceiling microphones; Tannoy - active column speakers; rackmountable interfaces Tascam - Ultra-compact CD Players Telex - 2-channel wireless intercom base stations with stage announce and WTA/ISO function; dual- sided headsets; 2-channel intercom beltpacks Vaddio - PTZ HD cameras Vbrick - Streaming encoders Wolfvision - document cameras Yamaha - 2-channel amps; analog & digital inputs Others - IPTV tuner; microphones, audio rec. Equipment

The Expanse of Zayed University in figures Built at a cost of 3 billion AED (Over USD 816 million) Spread over 18.8 hectares Three large campuses 28 buildings A total of 505 install areas: 215 Classrooms 123 Meeting rooms, Con. Rooms, VC Rooms 78 Laboratories 69 Misc. Rooms 16 Case Rooms 4 Lecture halls Over 3000 technical & plan drawings Over 1000 IP addresses Over 400 AV racks Sports complex Convention Centre

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INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Smarting sound and light at BIS auditorium T2 Consulting expertise on showcase The Brigade International School (BIS) in Bangalore is a unique project- not only for AV, but also for its acoustics and architectural lighting. In fact the latter two components have given the space a distinct look and appeal. Having presented the AV in part-I in the last issue, SIA, this time, presents, the other two unique aspects in the second and final part. Read on.

The BIS Whitefield auditorium has certain distinct design factors. While one is a very inherent component, the other is a technical embellishment. That the complex housing of the auditorium is in close proximity with a railway line – the Bangalore-Chennai line runs from hardly a 100-meter distance – imparting proper acoustics was of paramount importance.

Similarly, that the client wanted a very innovative yet functional interior décor in terms of lighting, the architectural lighting became an essential component accentuating the design appeal.

Further, the brief also required the consultant’s detailing on power, data, control, heat loading and electrical specifications to various teams involved in the job and also coordinate the whole into a world class facility. This essentially meant that acoustic issues were to be fixed before the AV install began.

The acoustic job itself included: • Exterior wall and glazing to control external noise intrusion to the prefunction and main auditorium.

• Roof treatment and false under ceiling to protect the main auditorium from rain noise • Interior acoustic treatments for the auditorium and banquet to RT and STC factors • Sound transfer from auditorium to banquet hall below and vice versa • Integration of the room acoustics with speech reinforcement systems • Vibration and noise control for AC and chiller systems located on the back roof over the stage area Going by the specification, the entire interior including the roof, false ceiling, proscenium, balcony, walls, stage and doors were treated with noise absorption and reduction materials. Bengalurubased Klassic Interiors was entrusted with the task of acoustic installation.

The purlins and the truss below the primary ceiling/roof was treated with

calcium silicate tiles from Ramco while the primary false ceiling was isolated from the secondary ceiling by means of resilient hangers/spring isolators from Pune-based Hitech Supports. Further, the primary false ceiling was treated with double skin water resistant boards. The plenum was treated with rockwool infill covered by 24 gauge perforated box. The false ceiling, fixed into a customized grid system, was treated with gypsum-based acoustic tiles of 0.9 NRC and 0.9 RH factor.

“We had to do a lot of customization,” says Uttam of Bengaluru-based Klassic Interiors who handled the acoustic install. “Varying height of the eight ceilings was one,” he says, adding “the purlin height, and the grid size was higher than the normal industry specification, so we had to develop a customized solution to meet the requirement.”

The back wall on the stage was treated with aluminum composite panel (ACP) movable partition of 150mm, covered

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS seen, and, when illuminated, they read as a matrix of lights coming from the void between the ceiling panels.

Access ways are provided to facilitate service and maintenance. The fixtures can be pulled up by the chain to allow replacement of lamp and lowered back into its pre-set position. The MH working lights were handled in the same manner.

with two layers of rockwool 75mm thickness each which was again covered with 4mm ACP to ward of any noise related problems.

Forty eight hours of continuous environmental noise measurement was carried out to establish the needs for noise control from the environment and specifically from the train noise.

The finished space, post-treatment was tested using EASE analysis and Ray Tracing method to verify its compliance to the specified parameters.

Architectural Lighting An important spec of the brief/design was to increase the perceived height of the space, it was conceived to incorporate indirect and infused lighting only, throughout, with no lighting source being directly visible anywhere. With a view to achieving this, it was again conceived to create pools of light on the floor highlighting the stone finishes and visual cluster of lights. Use of LED pixel walls was also considered to separate various heights in the lobby where the area has a double height space.

The main auditorium had a specific set of challenges for the architectural lighting. That the height of the ceiling from floor ranged between seven to 15 meters with varying distances, and the stage is racked too, it was impossible to access the light fixtures from the floor level. While this (the height of the space) meant that it needed an easy method to change lamps, that it also had to host diverse programmes from seminars to performing arts, an ambient lighting to suit every occasion was imperative.

Events such as school programmes like lectures and such other presentations normally require 300 lux while theatrical arts require only 100 lux lighting, and the design had to provide for both. Keeping

in view the costs of installing and operating this sort of ‘lighting for diverse settings,’ it was decided to provide MH working lights; more, it was also decided to have 300 lux at 800 AFFL to facilitate note taking during lectures and such other presentations.

The auditorium lighting, therefore, was treated in layers of lighting to facilitate diverse settings such as: * General illumination – for school and auditorium use – ceiling based * Working lighting – for set up and rehearsal – ceiling based * Ambient lighting – lighting detail in perforated wood panel sections – walls * Floor lighting for stair and seat numbering * Emergency lighting * Exit lighting The final setting had a Par38 narrow beam lamp that provided required illumination levels complemented by a soft quality of light and warm colouration accentuating the interior scheme. These lamps are connected to the dimming system. The ceiling was slotted with floating panels suspended at various changing angles, the lighting fixtures were suspended in the voids between them. The architect had to, in fact, adjust the panel sizes to suit the required spacing of the luminaires.

Catwalks and crawl ways were provided in the space between ceiling and false ceiling above, to access all the areas with lighting fixtures that are chain suspended to the level of the ceiling edge. They are custom finished in black so when not illuminated, they are not

Recessed Par 38’s were used in the fixed ceiling above the balcony, while the under-balcony lights were changed to MR wide angle glass front lamps due to the low height and limited space available. All the fixtures were circuited to allow a set of functions: highlight the centre audience segment; entrance point; access ways; and an overall wash to the seating area. More, all of this illumination can be dimmed to create a typical texture in the general lighting and also allow for suitable ambience for various settings.

“The varying height of the ceiling was indeed a big challenge,” says Bernard Julian of Vijay Energy Plus, the locally-based lighting contracting firm.

“The height to ceiling from floor being too high at one point, and too low at another, particularly under the balcony,” he says, adding, “fixing a lighting solution to such a setting is always difficult.”

The lighting installed used a combination of luminaires from Philips, Osram and Spectrum Lighting to weave in an appealing illumination. The fixtures were supplied by Prism Lighting, who also supplied the customized LED lighting for the walls.

Characteristically, the architect wanted to highlight the texture of the wooden acoustic perforated wall panels that are set at various levels protruding from the base wall surface. The solution was to provide edge lighting- using LED strip light in warm white meant to enhance the colour of the wood. A diverse set of panels were selected to have this detail creating a matrix of light on the walls.

The design also meant that the surface required no (additional) decorative fixtures. The wall lighting is programmed as three dimmable circuits allowing varying illumination levels for effect.

Moreover, the lighting pattern functions as a primary lighting source for theatre and auditorium type events.

As the venue was meant to be a multi-use facility, the staircase (or the gangways) were fitted with LED stair tread lighting to highlight the stairs along with the row numbering illuminated in the floor.

A specific number of lights in the ceiling were selected for emergency lighting and placed on a UPS cut over circuit as

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

well as the dimming circuit. In addition, some self-powered exit lighting fixtures were also incorporated to swing into lighting in exigency situations.

A dimming and relay control system was provided to handle all the lighting moods and states required for the venue’s operation. The notable point here is that all this is selectable from programmed wall panels with a mechanism to activate during the occasions of use, and deactivate to prevent unauthorized use.

Stage Lighting

INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS

numbers of 3.5kv each, 12-channel dimmers from German major MA Lighting to further accentuate the lighting for diverse settings. Besides, the control room was equipped with an Avolite 60-channel control system to monitor the entire lighting on the stage.

“The entire lighting is fixed to a motorized lighting bar customized locally, the lighting presents an awesome setting,” asserts Srinivasan, chief of Prabhath Stage Lighting. “It wasn’t a big challenge though for us to do the install,”

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he vouches, “for, the design specification for the same was so meticulous, and our expertise of installing even bigger venues made it easy for us.”

Overall, the Brigade School Auditorium at Whitefield sports an integrated design intelligence that includes smart AV, acoustics and architectural lighting. www.t2consulting.in

The BIS auditorium is also an awesome case for the stage lighting. Bengalurubased Prabhath Lighting takes the honours for the install. The install comprised a huge combination of main fixtures and profile lights and dimmers, besides the control system. As many as 15 units each of 2kv and 1kv lighting fixtures with 7-50 degrees varying length and 12 units each of 600W and 800W profile lights from Italian lighting major FAL formed the main line of the stage lighting. They are augmented with 16 numbers of cycloramas from another Italian lighting major Proel, and 12 numbers of domestically customized PAR-62 lighting fixtures.

The stage was also equipped with four

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INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

The science of AV at Jawaharlal Nehru University convention centre Convention Centre features massive audio-visual system

by Ram Bhavanashi to deploy a state-of-theart audio visual system. A clinical tendering process resulted in the Delhibased AV Science & Technologies Pvt. Ltd. coming on-board for the prestigious project.

The Main Lecture Theatre

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), one of the most reputed, premier institutions of higher learning in India, and the region, is home to many a phenomenon that the country identifies with.

An acclaimed academic activism aimed at crafting human vision to explore their genius for a holistic betterment on national, regional and international fronts. While an important aspect of this setting has been an infrastructural ‘architecture,’ augmenting the same is a recent deployment of a massive audiovisual system at the Convention Centre.

SIA presents an exclusive perspective.

The very taking of the name JNU generates a typical awe across a spectrum of people in India. For, academic, socio-economic, and politically active ranks in the country are often driven by the ideologies ramified from the institution. With a reputation of influencing human activism and genius from across the Southeast Asia, the New Delhi-based Central University occupies a predominant position in the country’s identity stakes - which is reflected in the National Assessment and Accreditation Council’s awarding a grade of 3.9 out of 4, the highest grade awarded to any educational institution in the country.

With a view to ramping up its infrastructure for international conventions and seminars, apart from a host of internal sessions, the university had built a sprawling Convention Centre on its premises. The venue comprises a large auditorium (a multi-purpose facility), a big boardroom, seminar halls, and lecture threatres, apart from a cafeteria etc. A part of the university’s vision was

While the State-owned engineering consultancy major RITES Limited had been contracted to execute the whole project, AV Science was tasked with the design and deployment of the AV systems across the premises.

Known for its reputation for executing government projects, AV Science took on the ambitious install with an expansive draft for design and implementation.

“We were tasked with deploying only the best equipment and systems available,” says Gopiram Malik, the Managing Director of AV Science. “The brief was to set-up a collaborative network so that the facility could be used to its optimum potential, enabling AV-interaction amongst the students and faculty in the campus, and off the campus, remotely.”

According to him the brief specified that there should be uniform audio coverage across the facility, which meant that the auditorium, conference rooms, seminar halls, and lecture theatres – which are diverse in functions – had to have the same pleasing aural experience. An unwritten spec of the brief, of course, was the clarity of the video and the presentation system from any point of the hall(s). In addition, the ease of use also came in without saying.

“That indeed was a challenge,” Malik says, adding, “given the structural setting of the venue with a slew of acoustic issues.” These issues were reportedly compounded by the additional jobs like cabling, conduits, stage works, and above all coordinating with the other solution providers. A fast-track project that it was, the install warranted high degree coordination amongst the teams.

essentials,” informs the AV Science chief.

“That filled the bill.”

The Install – Technology display Massive as it is, the venue comprises of two big lecture theatres, three small lecture halls, and a large-capacity conference/boardroom, cafeteria, lounge etc. The big auditoriums are also meant to be performance theatres, boasting a matching set-up of audio for both the settings, besides video, and stage lighting.

The audio set-up for theatrical performance setting here features mainly a pair of Tannoy V12 Full Range speakers hung from the ceiling on either side in front of the stage, and 15 Tannoy CMS401e ceiling loudspeakers installed around the hall. These speakers are powered by a 4-channel Lab.gruppen C16.4T amplifier, and a BiAmp Nexia CS digital signal processor. Capturing the audio produced are four AKG D5 wired dynamic microphones, augmented by one each of AKG WMS 450HT wireless handheld, and AKG WMS 450PT wireless lapel mics, besides an AKG GN 50 ESP gooseneck mic meant for the podium speaker.

The control system for the audio features a 31-band Behringer FBQ3102 professional graphic equalizer – meant to handle both the live and studio applications – and a Yamaha 12-channel MG124C mixer, besides a Sony DVP-NS728HP/B DVD playerall set-up in a custom-made rack in the control room at the rear end of the hall.

For handling audio requirement other than the theatrical performance, the set-up features three Tannoy V12 loudspeakers that are augmented by a pair of Tannoy VS 15BP subwoofers, and powered by a dual-channel Crown XLS-802 amplifier. The mixing here is done by a 12-channel Yamaha

Understandably, the process began with multiple rounds of site visits; draft designs; and deliberations with the client’s project management teams, and OEMs. “While budget was a concern too, we could propose a solution within their budget, without compromising on the The Lecture Hall

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Manpreet Singh, Head-Projects at AV Science, at the Podium

MG124C mixer while AV playback is done by a Sony DVP-NS728HP/B DVD player. The mix of AKG’s wired, wireless and gooseneck mics is just the same as that of the theatrical setting.

The video component features a pair of Sony’s 7000-lumen VPL-FW 300 WXGA large venue HD projectors mounted to the ceiling. “The projectors are compact in size, but are powerful, capable of throwing images for long distances in set-ups like this,” informs Manpreet Singh, Head-Projects at AV Science, who actually oversaw the whole install. Complementing the video component is a pair of motorized 14’x10.6’ Da-Lite matt white screens installed in the middle of the facing walls on the stage. A pair of eight-input Extron IN1508 scaling presentation switchers do the AV switching job, while a pair of Extron ILP 250 touch panel systems, along with a pair of seven-inch Extron TLP 700 tabletop touchpanels, does the controlling function.

Each of the three small lecture theatres is equipped with a 5200-lumen Sony VPL-FX41 XGA LCD projector, and a motorized 12’x9’ Da-Lite matt white screen to handle the video display component that is powered by an Extron IP5 AV switcher. The sound reproduction is handled by a pair of Tannoy Di6 wall-mount speakers and six Tannoy CMS401e ceiling loudspeakers that are powered by a Crown XLS 202 power amplifier, and a BiAmp Nexia CS dsp. The audio capturing is done by one each of AKG WMS 450PT wireless handheld, and AKG WMS 450 HT wireless lapel, and AKG GN50 ESP gooseneck mics while the audio playback is done by a Sony DVP-NS728HP/B DVD player.

“The scale of activities undertaken regularly by the university is so huge that they required this much set-up to meet their growing requirement,” vouches Manpreet.

Conference Room – size matters So it appears, as one steps into the Conference Room that appears packed

INDIA & ME INSTALLATIONS

with the set-up, leaving little room for free movement of users+. Fully equipped with a digital audio, video conferencing system, the space can house over 50 members, besides the Chair at a time. The system features a main unit of 64-channel Taiden HCS-4100MA/20 digital conference system that is connected to the Chairman Unit, comprising five Taiden HCS-4360CE/20 flush mount type mics, and as many as 56 Taiden HCS-4360DE/20 delegate mics. A combination of an AKG WMS 450HT wireless handheld and AKG WMS 450PT wireless lapel mic is incorporated to handle any extra speaker’s requirement. Furthermore an AKG GN 50 ESP gooseneck mic adorns the podium installed at left side corner behind the Chair, to handle any presentation requirement.

Two Sony EVI-D70 cameras mounted on the wall on either side do the image capture for the chairman and the delegates. “The high performance cameras come with 216x zoom ratio with 12x optical and 18x digital zoom; can pan between -1700 to +1700 and can tilt from -300 to +900 to produce high-quality and precise images,” explains Manpreet.

The image capturing is controlled by a Taiden HCS-4311M video tracking system.

Handling the video job is a 4500-lumen Sony VPL-FW41 WXGA 3-chip LCD projector mounted on the ceiling, and directed at a motorized 12’x9’ Da-Lite matt white screen facing the Chair. An Extron IPL250 wired touchpanel, coupled with an Extron seven-inch tabletop Touchlink, does the control job and is augmented by an eightinput Extron IN1508 AV scalar presentation AV switcher.

The sound reproduction job is done by a pair of Tannoy Di6DC wall-mount speakers installed on either side of the display screen, and eight Tannoy CVS4 ceiling-mounted speakers while they are powered by three Crown XLS 202 power amplifiers, and a BiAmp Nexia CS dsp. The AV rack also features a Sony DVP-NS728HP/B DVD player.

With a view to handling the video conferencing more effectively, a Sony PCS-XG80 video communication system, comprising a Sony EVIHD1 video camera has also been incorporated into the install. An Extron MVX 44 VGA A matrix switcher does the support function, while entire cabling has also been handled by an Extron cabling suite - except for the microphone, and the loudspeaker wiring which is handled by Delton cabling.

“It’s admittedly a massive install,” vouches Manpreet, explaining the

scale and vision of the university administration. “They just wanted to have an integrated system in place that can handle any communication requirement.”

While the install indeed is massive, so were the challenges- the main component coming from the aural aspect of the premises. That the administration reportedly did not have an idea of acoustics in the beginning, the physical structure of the venue did not have any acoustic treatment, posing a serious challenge for audio install.

Though the interior walls and ceiling have been treated with acoustic tiles, it wasn’t enough to allow clear speech intelligibility.

“We had to take the project team to a couple sites with perfect acoustics to make them realize the importance of the same,” informs Krishan Pratap Singh of Tannoy India. “It took us multiple visits and some demo too,” he explains.

The other part of the challenge was the low height of the functional spaces.

More, that the administration wanted a uniform audio throughout the venue while the spaces were of diverse size and capacity fixing a right solution for all the spaces wasn’t easy.

“We strived hard to achieve proper acoustics of .9NRC in the hall and .8 NRC on the stage,” explains Krishna. “We could finally do it, with good support from all the constituent project teams.”

“The JNU Convention Centre is indeed one of the most ambitious installs, at least in this part of the country,” vouches Gopiram Malik. “We are glad that we could achieve it to the satisfaction of the client.” www.avscience.net

Audio control

The Conference Room

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

L`Oreal India hires V-TECH for the AV setup The company’s boardroom features state-of-the-art equipment

The Board room

L’Oreal, a world leader in cosmetics, is synonymous with beauty, innovation and scientific excellence in more than 130 countries. The 20,000 sq.feet facility which is smartly designed by Space Matrix incorporates a 32 Seater Board Room, Reception, 14 Seater Conference Rooms, a 10 Seater Conference Room, 6 Seater Meeting Rooms, MD’s Cabin, Executive Cabins, a 4 Seater Meeting Room, Training Rooms, Cafeteria & Café.

The client wanted a fully equipped Board Room with all the latest AV products, a videowall in the reception and AV solutions for all the rooms. After many days of stupendous hard work sessions the final AV solution was drafted and the project was awarded to V-TECH based on the company’s rich past experiences.

In the 32 Seater Board Room, team V-TECH recommended the Kramer switcher for connectivity with the HDMI & VGA laptop port . Similarly, the client wanted to have a feel of telepresence experience , thus 2 units of Samsung 55” LED were fitted at the side wall of the room instead of the central wall for a better audience coverage. Beyerdynamic boundary microphones were installed on the table with a “look at me” button which would enable the VC camera to zoom to

The Board room featuring the Samsung 55” LED panels

the speaker at the push of the button.

The JBL inwall speakers along with 8 units of JBL ceiling speakers delivered clear sound for the video conference and presentation application. V-TECH recommended a NEC projector which was mounted on a ceiling motorized lift with high gain Remaco motorised screen for the projection surface.

Crestron Control System was chosen for controlling the various electronic & electrical devices , curtains and lights. All the equipment were organised in 3x2U equipment racks placed in a wooden shelf . Proper numbering and wiring had been done on rack end by the V-TECH Project Team.

Apart from the Board Room, V-TECH also installed the Crestron Room Scheduler by providing the Crestron TPMC-4SM which works directly with the room view server edition room management software providing enterprise wide room scheduling solution. The TPMC-4SM provided an immediate view of each room’s availability with the ability to look up the calendar for any room on the network and even book the room right on the spot. The dual colour buttons gives a clear indication of a room’s status at a

The Reception area features 2x2 Samsung videowall

glance, lighting green when the room is available and red when it is in use.

The Reception Area features a Samsung 2x2 Video Wall to display their advertisements & were controlled from the receptionist computer. It was connected with a DVD player, satellite box and a laptop port for viewing the content as chosen.

The client had their own AV resources which needed to be integrated and aligned properly with other new requirements in their conference & meeting room. Team V-TECH maintained the record of the current possessed equipment, dismantled and reinstalled it at the new premises with the other allied AV equipment.

Since its completion, the AV infrastructure has been in use almost everyday. The installation provided L’Oreal India a platform for discussion and conducting business with their Indian & foreign clients in a well-equipped Board Room.

V-TECH can take pride in delivering the services professionally and passionately to L`Oreal without any delay and deviation. www.vttpl.com

One of the conference rooms

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INDIA & ME SPECIAL FEATURE

United Arab Emirates University, UAE

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Qatar National Convention Centre, Qatar

Princess Noura Bint Abdul Rahman University Auditorium, Saudi Arabia

Time to collaborate, act digital, move cloud!

Pro AV getting proactive in the Middle East

by Ram Bhavanashi Recession blues, sluggish growth, concerns of political uncertainties, and binds on AV spends that have bothered the professional audiovisual and systems integration (AVSI) industry in the Middle East for the last couple of years or more are apparently waning. The Pro AV industry is again getting proactive, or so it appears. With the findings of industry bodies corroborating with the impressions of a cross-section of industry, it appears good (if not robust) times are back again, audiovisually.

SIA, in this special edition on the Middle East, presents an exclusive on the dynamics of the industry: An Economic Snapshot Survey released

by InfoComm International in April this year vouched: “Pro AV systems suppliers whose primary market is Middle East & Africa (MEA) are the most confident about their economic conditions, both within and outside their area.”

With the Pro AV market projected globally to reach USD78 billion in 2012, the Middle East and Africa region is expected to contribute USD3.12 billion of that total projected revenue. Indicated in the report as one of the fastest growing regions for Pro AV, the region is projected to grow and contribute USD4.34 billion by 2015 to the overall global AV business.

While it remains to be seen if the projections come true, what is important here is the proactive tendency that had apparently begun setting in. More, the perception gained credence in the endorsement of a section of industry known for its acumen.

Dynamic “The AVSI business model in the Gulf markets is still emerging in a dynamic and vibrant manner with a strong growth potential,” says Aseem Gupta, Chief Visionary of Dubai-headquartered ICT solutions pioneer, Visionaire.

Aseem Gupta, Chief Visionary of Visionaire

“The growth potential makes the region one of the recognized global centers of excellence and development in fields of tourism, manufacturing, green innovation, education and healthcare.”

According to him, this dynamism will spur growth of the AV/ICT industry in the times to come.

Gupta’s impressions are more or less an endorsement of views proposed by none other than Dr. Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist and Head of External Relations at Dubai International Financial

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Centre (DIFC) over a year ago. In his Economic Note launched in July 2011, Dr. Saidi highlighted the importance of infrastructure as an engine of growth.

According to the Note, the main driver in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) markets is an energy commodity windfall that is being increasingly deployed to transform the Arabian Peninsula into an advanced 21st century ‘knowledge based economy.’

The value of projects planned or under way in the GCC, therefore, is close to $ 2.9 trillion, taking April 2011 as the base point. That’s indeed phenomenal.

INDIA & ME SPECIAL FEATURE

ClearOne Communications. According to him, the region has always been a key focus market for the American audio (and now video) solutions major. More, it is now presenting the company with more dynamic opportunities, particularly after its recent acquisition of digital signage major MagicBox, and videoconferencing leader VCON. “We have been enjoying excellent growth in the region,” he says, adding, “our adding of MagicBox and VCON to our solutions have only multiplied our prospects.”

its fortunes. Says D Rajesh, Business Manager-AV at the company’s Dubai office: “A major shift is seen over the past few years as more and more companies are sourcing for AV solutions locally as compared to a few years back when enterprises depended on European and US based solution providers. This has actually encouraged big companies like Al Reyami to increase their focus on AV turnkey solutions.” His meaning, therefore, is that the region is brimming with opportunities.

Middle East has been a dynamic and vibrant market for manufacturers like DIS, Dataton and Vtron too. That the companies have been witnessing a steady growth over the past few years, they consider the market place to be very proactive.

P S Tiwari, Regional Manager-IMEA, ClearOne Communications Tony Abou Jawad, Director - Genesis Integration

“The Middle East market is turning very very dynamic,” comes a thumping endorsement from Tony Abou Jawad, Director at Dubai-headquartered Genesis Integration, one of the leading AV solutions integrators across the IMEA. “It’s so vibrant, one quarter we are working on education, then the next on healthcare, then a Formula 1 race track,” Jawad says, adding, “the recession, if any, makes this even more dynamic, since niche players are forced into adjacent markets.”

A testimonial of ClearOne’s excitement with the Middle East is its very recent honouring of Riyadh-based AV solutions heavyweight Saudi Media Systems, with the ‘Award of Excellence’ for exceedingly good sales of its solutions during 2011.

ClearOne also honoured Taxan Gulf, another ME-focused AV distributor for excellent sales. “Our sales show the market is very dynamic and growing,” endorses the ClearOne exec.

Roshan Gupta, Country Head-IMEA at Revolabs

Endorses Syed Abdul Wahab, Director of Mindstec, leading AV distributor in the IMEA: “The region is growing in its demand for end-to-end solutions.

Mindstec has successfully managed to achieve 25 percent year-on-year growth in the last six years. In 2011, our revenues clocked AED 72 million.” According to the Mindstec Director, Dubai is the region’s technology hub and provides a perfect platform for promotion of the trade.

Supportively enough, the region has been very proactive for digital, wireless audio solutions developer Revolabs.

“Middle East has been one of the fastest growing markets for us,” says Roshan Gupta, Country Head-IMEA at Revolabs.

“Though the size of Middle East AVSI market is smaller compared with that of North America, Europe or APAC, it is one of most dynamic,” he says, adding, “at this point in time, the Middle East AV market is more predictable than the USA or Europe.”

“ME is a dynamic and fast growing market for AV industry today,” says P S Tiwari, Regional Manager-IMEA at

For the multi-faceted Al Reyami Group, spread all over the IMEA, Pro AV has been an exciting domain to explore

Syed Abdul Wahab, Director of Mindstec

Tyronne Pires CEO of Almoe Digital

There is, however, one discordant voice. “The AVSI industry, in the Middle East, has been very stagnant over the last few years,” says Tyronne Pires, CEO, of another Dubai-headquartered multinational AVSI Almoe Digital. “Few major factors like the recession in the West as well as the financial meltdown in Dubai, and the troubles around the Arab world have hit the bottom lines of many enterprises,” he reasons out. “Lack of a good number of major projects is also affecting the market.”

Pires, however, agrees that things have begun to improve, as of late. Certain parts of the region have picked up very encouragingly and thus signs of recovery are just round the corner.

‘Learning’ technology Contrary to the notion of ‘living on the edge’ by a section of the industry, the region is held by most industry stakeholders as actually harnessing technology like any other dynamic player in the global place.

Says Aseem, who is acclaimed to have carved a vision of cutting-edge technology: “There is a significant focus on the education sector which has been recognized internationally as (a domain

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INDIA & ME SPECIAL FEATURE

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Enterprise IT spending by vertical market in MEA (in USD approx.)

Banking & Securities

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

15.543

16.687

17.496

18.275

19.139

Communications, Media & Services

12.748

13.662

14.488

15243

16.139

6.1

Education

2.463

2.620

2.721

2.809

2.909

4.2

Government

16.228

17.223

17.890

18.521

19.238

4.3

Healthcare Providers

3.983

4.277

4.465

4.607

4.742

4.5

Insurance

5.441

5.8218

6.0435

6.2258

6.4357

4.3

Manufacturing & Natural Resources

14.212

14.778

15.273

15.615

16.014

3.0

Retail

4.101

4.277

4.365

4.492

4.643

3.1

Transportation

4.269

4.591

4.777

4.910

5.060

4.3

Utilities

5.123

5.480

5.677

5.849

6.011

4.1

Wholesale Trade Grand Total

2.031

2.174

2.239

2.312

2.376

4.0

86.147

91.599

95.440

98.863

102.713

4.5

Figures have been converted from Euros into USD

for) leading edge projects.” Evidently, most AV projects in education have really been awesome - meaning it is one of the high-growth areas. The ICT major’s install at the UAEU campus in Al Ain was raved about by many vouching for the cutting edge technology the integrator weaved in. So is the new campus of Zayed University in Abu Dhabi; the famed KAUST in the Saudi capital of Riyadh; Qatar University of College of Education in Doha, and the list goes unending.

Apart from education, some of the infrastructural projects in the region – particularly in UAE, Qatar and Saudi, followed by Oman and Masqat - have amazed even the Western connoisseurs.

“UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been early adopters for cutting edge technology,” explains the Visionaire chief whose comments are endorsed by Abou Jawad, the Genesis-SI Director.

“Without a doubt, the Middle East has been harnessing cutting-edge technologies,” he vouches strongly.

“For, simply the region did not have any legacy traditions in technology to deal with,” he reasons out. Governments being relatively new; and industry – thanks to their oil riches-induced spending capability – just taking off over the last few decades only with the best available, they stood to benefit from the latest. “We live with leading edge technology in education, government, banking, corporations and shopping,” asserts Abou Jawad.

Evidently, early this year, global research firms Gartner and IDC have projected higher spending for cuttingedge technologies by the Middle East compared to that by the USA or Europe.

While IDC said Middle East, Africa, and Turkey put together (Enterprise IT) would spend over $65 billion this year on information technologies, Gartner had not only upped the figure by as much as $30 billion but also projected it to over $102 billion (see table). An IDC report

2011-2015 CAGR (%) 5.3

Courtesy: Gartner

said that Middle East, Africa, and Turkey would be characterized by ‘leveraging disruptive technologies and operating models such as cloud, virtualization, mobility, and analytics.’

“The region is making substantial investments in infrastructure development across various areas, including healthcare, transportation, education, leisure and tourism,” says Roshan Gupta, Revolab’s IMEA Country Head, as if to validate the survey findings. “These investments are bound to create opportunities for cutting edge AV technologies.”

We, however, again have a sort of discordance coming from the Almoe Digital chief as he says most AVSI manufacturers have not really brought out any really revolutionary products over the last few years. He opines this may be due to lack of major projects in the region.

Collaborating ‘apps’ If the Middle East market is spending so much, where’s all that going? The industry gives a ‘collaborative’ answer.

“I have to smile and say that the paradigm is rapidly shifting from hardware to software,” says Aseem Gupta. “There is great potential for software and IP-based technologies in every area of the ICT domain,” he says, adding, “then, there is this new attention to the tablet device that is making its way into everything that we do.” So, customers are asking for “apps” for everything!

“Yes, applications for IP-TV, digital signage, and video-conferencing,” chips in Abou Jawad.

“Communication, signage, and interactive technologies play the driver role,” feels Harold Fernandez, General Manager at the Dubai-based AV consultant- distributor Abcom Solutions.

“Communication is anyway the job of AV;

Harold Fernandez, General Manager, Abcom Solutions

but how is it presented in what application is what most are curious about.”

Endorses D Rajesh, Al Reyami’s AV business manager: “Communications and collaborative technologies are major driving forces today.”

According to Roshan Gupta, the ‘appsin-demand’ are more. Digital signage, AV conferencing, media streaming, webcasting, and all on mobility!

Says Tiwari: “IP communication is touching almost every aspect of human activity today- education, entertainment, AV communication, online shopping, and advertisement. Everywhere, the backbone is IP and this is driving the AV industry towards a collaborative platform.”

According to him, ClearOne is already leading the new direction with its StreamNet solution which carries audio, video, data and control over an IP network. “Our latest ‘Collaborate all-inOne’ is just one perfect example,” Tiwari says, adding, “so, we collaborate with various apps for a larger benefit.’

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Leading the way The Middle East, though generically referred to as one single geography, isn’t one really; it is as diverse as any other geography when it comes to the application of technology. Like Saudi Arabia, while being the biggest independent geography in the region, is also the biggest market for AV. Qatar, despite being much smaller in geography, runs a close second, with UAE following next. That the KSA accounts for almost the half of Middle East market, the industry unanimously acknowledges the kingdom as a clear leader, and the same is reflected in the InfoComm’s latest Market Definition and Strategy Study- identifying KSA as the leader, with Qatar and UAE following second and third.

“Saudi, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait have been very dynamic,” Roshan ratifies, adding “Syria and Jordan have been rather slow, probably due to their political environment for some time. For Harold of Abcom, and Wahab of Mindstec, UAE is the most vibrant market and Dubai is playing central to the country’s vibrancy by being its hub. “Owing to its trading vibrancy, Dubai plays conduit to many new technologies,” adds Harold.

“The KSA’s vibrancy comes from the fact that there’s huge focus and spending by government, but very limited number of solution providers around,” Al Reyami’s Rajesh provides as an insight. Genesis’s Abou Jawad feels while it is government and industry in the UAE, and hospitality and government in Qatar, “it is everything in the KSA” that’s vibrating demandingly.

Almoe Digital chief Tyronne pires elaborates that Saudi Arabia takes the largest pie in AVSI market, since most of the major AV projects are currently happening there, with massive investments made by the government in education sector; UAE is beginning to do that but some confidence is required for cash flow. He, however, adds a new angle too: “Iran is a very big market but is currently struggling due to political issues.”

Now, the SWOT By whatever reason or scale, the Middle East does have its own SWOT. Here it is: Strengths: Dynamism, willingness to harness cutting-edge technologies, ‘smart-thinking’ towards Green-ICT, and top of all, willingness to invest for all which is the region’s biggest strength.

This, despite the recession-induced economic strictures.

“Developing economies (are) in need of quality services,” Abou Jawad provides a clue.

To interpret this in Aseem Gupta’s words, “the leadership in the UAE has shown its willingness using technology to bring

INDIA & ME SPECIAL FEATURE

about overall benefit to its citizenry. It’s a leading example of e-governance, e-education, will be a key adopter of tablet technology.”

The region’s oil riches contribute to their strength, adding to their willingness to invest for the best, says Roshan, and the proactive thinking to adopt the best is a big strength, adds Harold.

Weaknesses- “oh, sizeable,” comes the answer. Too long project sale cycles; slow decision making; excessive dependency on European/Western economic conditions; low or no awareness on products and processes; apprehensions about neighbourhood developments; and non-availability of skilled professionals.

“The key challenge faced by young and rapidly developing economies of the region is the knowledge disparity,” declares Aseem Gupta. “The AVSI business is an easy-entry act as it doesn’t need specific qualifications, certifications or adherence to standards.

Vendor sales pressure and unethical business practices leads to disparate technology being easily procured and installed without recognition of design skills and the ability to make the system provide all its functional benefits.”

It’s relatively easy to purchase flat panel displays, AV signal management equipment, and fix them to a wall and run cables, he says, but if it is compared with the quality of the same work carried out in USA or Europe, the disparity comes out clear.

“Majority of install work is carried out by AV-SI’s who lack the design and functional abilities to make a system work to its full potential,” Gupta elaborates. “The most common issue I see in most bad design and install work is having a full HD display on the wall (normally a consumer grade flatTV) connected with a VGA cable which doesn’t have any containment and run off to furniture mounts that are not terminated properly. Connecting to these displays is a problem; the image quality is filled with artifacts and there is no benefit of using a full HD display, since proper cable, signal management and connectivity are missed out. Similarly, most installs of IWB’s and touch screen flat panel displays are not even properly oriented, the driver software required is never made available and proper user training never imparted, leading most IWB’s to be used as presentation screens with little benefit of interactivity.”

InfoComm did roll out new initiatives to address this knowledge and AV appreciation gap. Meanwhile, users would continue to suffer from having made bad choices of installers.

Threats: Fears of political uncertainty in the neighbourhood, and economic hiccups at home, and fancied West are the threats they say. Ironically, no one has a solution to this. “No one knows how long this will continue,” says Tyronne, more or less summing up the apprehensions of all. “Recession has already dried up cash flows. “Most of the cow boys (smaller companies which have sprung up very fast) have exited this market.”

And, now the opportunities…

This is what everyone in the industry have been waiting to explore. Optimism is obviously running high with recession apparently fading away, and market analysts popping up with encouraging findings: *Digital signage – one of the hottest areas of AV application – would provide a massive booster in the times to come.

The recent Digital Signage Conference in Moscow highlighted the potential of this area, particularly from the UAE *Enterprise spending on videoconferencing would touch a whopping $1.1 billion in 2016 - Ovum *The ‘four forces of technology: cloud, social media, mobile and information, would impact IT organizations and technology providers in the Middle East (leading to AVSI’s fortunes) - Gartner *Public cloud business in the Middle East and Africa will touch $451 million in 2015, rising at a CAGR of 31.7 per cent from $114 million clocked in 2011- Ovum *As large events are expected to stimulate market, AV for venues and events is expected to grow (from $155 million in 2009) to $347 million in 2015- a 15 per cent increase *FIFA World Cup 2022 happening in Qatar can spur a great activity for all the areas of AV- contributing to an overall growth *Even before that, if either Istanbul (Turkey) wins the bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, or Doha (Qatar) pulls a coup (it was dropped from the list of finalists recently), that would be a huge case for both Pro and Consumer AV before the event *Finally, economic slowdown actually contributed to an increased adoption of Unified Communications, as per a report by Frost & Sullivan. Its two-yearold projection suggested that “Unified Communications would reach $235 million by 2015” is considered still valid, and vouches for opportunities for AV. So, it’s time the industry stakeholders moved proactively, to make an active case for Pro AV!

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INDIA & ME INTERVIEW

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Defining AV distribution

as distinct business Mindstec Distribution FZCO, one of the leading AV distribution enterprises in the Middle East and India, has made a big name in a quick span of time. Incepted in 2006, with just a two-member staff, in Dubai, the company has evolved to become a pioneer in business across the MENA (Middle East, North Africa) and India geographies charting a dynamism and concepts in distribution. SIA talks to Syed Abdul Wahab, Director at Mindstec, to know more about the distribution major’s endeavours. Read on:

SIA: Tell us something about Mindstec, its genesis, evolution through the years etc.

WAHAB: Mindstec started off in 2006 as an AV distribution enterprise for the Middle East markets. Admittedly, it came with its own set of challenges, and of course, opportunities. Starting and operating a distribution company in a saturated market like the Middle East was difficult, in the beginning, as all the reputed products and brands had their own distribution set-up. I had to reinvent and look for manufacturers who had good products but no representation in the region.

The first product I introduced – as a channel partnership initiative – in the market was the interactive whiteboard from Qomo, an excellent product with wide-range applications in the education space. The timing was good as there was massive spending on education across the Middle East due to the increasing focus in this sector from almost all the governments in the region; and my first product was received with huge appeal.

It helped me quickly establish myself in the business. There was no looking back after that; products began pouring in; and helped me get into a leadership position in AV distribution in the Middle East.

Simultaneously, I also scanned the markets to find if there were any products which could be developed by me under a brand owned by me. After finding the right manufacturing partner, I launched MAGNUM range of products that included pop-up boxes, ceiling mount kits, and screens.

On the other hand, my involvement with the Indian market during my working tenure helped me establish contacts and relationships in India too. Therefore, as soon as my ME business began taking shape, the logical extension was to expand to India. The credibility that I had built into the business by then spoke for me and established the brand in India as well.

Last year, we celebrated our sixth anniversary, and touched US$20 million turnover, which, I feel, is a pretty good achievement- given the circumstances Mindstec, and the market had been through.

This, I vouch, hasn’t been an easy success to claim. I owe this to the confidence our manufacturing partners reposed; the faith our channel partners had in Mindstec; and the relentless effort put in by our team to build the brand and cause.

SIA: You were a high-profile honcho in a reputed AVSI enterprise. Why did you have to set up your own concern? And that too a distribution business?

WAHAB: Everyone gets a calling some time in their life and my calling was Mindstec. After seeing both sides of the AV business – SI and distribution – and managing it for someone else, I decided to work for myself.The relationships I had established during my working career with manufacturers, distributors, and channel partners gave me confidence to start my own venture.

But why the distribution? I too debated on this when I was formulating the business model. However, when I looked at the market, there was no company fully dedicated to distribution model. All those in business were also seriously involved in systems integration which, I felt, was defying the spirit of the distribution concept. That they were competing with other SIs in the marketplace, the distribution business was not growing; there were parallel imports happening because of just this reason. Thus I saw a great opportunity in this segment and moved in to capitalize on the same.

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

SIA: What are the products and brands the company distributes and for which markets?

tends to go wrong. Unfortunately this has been the trend for a long time, thereby slowing down the required pace of quality intakes.

WAHAB: We currently represent many brands and products. Currently, we represent these solutions across Middle East, Africa and India:

I think India is still in the learning stage of technology. However, we look for good times ahead, and, the day will surely come.

QOMO’s interactive whiteboards and document cameras; MITSUBISHI’s display products; VTRON’s video wall products; EVOKO’s meeting management solution; NEXTWINDOW’s interactive overlays for flat panels; CABLETIME’s digital media distribution over LAN; WINNOV’s lecture capture systems; WAVEX’s interactive displays; ATLAS SOUND’s audio speakers and amplifiers; RDL’s audio, video and control modules; MAGENTA’s switching and distribution solutions and GEFEN’s signal management solutions.

SIA: What competencies have you built into the company to stay ahead in the market?

We would continue to add more as we move along, and as and when we see a requirement for a particular product in the market.

SIA: What is your biggest market? And why?

WAHAB: I can say Middle East and India.

Middle East is because of the government spending on education sector and India because of the corporate sector.

Having said that, I see the potential in Indian market as much bigger than that currently in the Middle East! Though it may look a little subdued, or slow, it will explode sooner or later, and when it does, we will be in the forefront to capitalize on the opportunities. We have already invested significantly in India and keep investing further to be able to catch up the potential at a near future date.

SIA: What, according to you, is the most challenging market? And why?

WAHAB: If one were to go by the current global economic situation, all the markets are equally challenging.

But prima facie Indian market appears more challenging because price is still the most important criterion in decision making. More, understanding and acceptance of technology is limited and therefore decision making on quality

WAHAB: Over the years, we have built strong relationships with channel partners across the region, and also technically supported the products that we have been selling. I can safely say that our support to our partners is what defines us and keeps us ahead of the curve.

SIA: What competencies you believe you have brought to the market through the enterprise?

WAHAB: I think the single, most impactful difference we made to this domain has been separating the distribution business from SI. This gave us a clear edge in the market. Second has been our ability to technically support the channel partners in products we distribute. Our competency also comes into play sometimes in designing the projects for them. While this made us stay very close to the channel partners as they consider us as their partners, and not just suppliers it also helped us professionalise the channel partnership, and ‘corporatise’ the AV industry in a small way. I am sure, that we are being watched and emulated by some in a small way too. I feel a little proud too to have achieved this.

SIA: What is the core, and biggest strength of Mindstec ?

WAHAB: Our relationship with Channel Partners and Manufacturers and our team. That’s, probably, the summation of our core strength. For, the attentiveness, and quality of service we attach to the relationship, besides the dedication to the cause of the brand stood us to what we are today.

INDIA & ME INTERVIEW

SIA: What are the areas that you believe you need to ramp up?

WAHAB: We would like to build competencies to locally support all the products in terms of after sales service.

We have already taken some baby steps in that direction and are working with manufacturers to open up a repair center in Dubai. We would also like to look at other products that can help us to get stronghold in the education market. We are always scouting for newer products for the education market. More, we would also like to be connected to education in the AV industry. We hope we would be able to share some news soon in this area too.

SIA: Where exactly is Mindstec positioned today, in terms of its market cap?

WAHAB: I never started this business just to sell products, and therefore never looked at market cap. I started this initiative because I am passionate about it and want to add value to this business in every respect I can. Market Cap is an area I don’t understand; I think it is the job of accountants, and we will hire them when I think we are ready for the same.

SIA: Where exactly do you intend to position Mindstec? How far are you from achieving your objective?

WAHAB: My objective when I started this initiative was to enable manufacturers to promote and sell their products better than what they had been doing all the while in the region. On the other hand, an important part of the objective was to support channel partners by providing local warranty and installation support for specific products. We have been able to do that to a significant extent. Having said that, it stays true that nothing is ever complete in this line, as it is an ever growing area, and continuous activity in one form or the other. We want to perfect ourselves every time, building on the latest we have achieved. www.mindstec.com

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INSTALLATIONS

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Media-Go Engineering showcases its integration capabilities at the Tamar Development Top of the range AV Solutions integrated to provide a seamless experience for users.

The Tamar Development is a key government project covering the construction of a Central Government Complex (CGC), the Legislative Council (LegCo) Complex, an open public space and two elevated walkways in Tamar which is located at the Central District of Hong Kong Island.

The project features the installation of a modern integrated customised audiovisual system throughout the new facilities, designed to enhance and assist the various government organizations that work within this new development.

Completed late last year by MediaGo Engineering, the sole AV system integrator of the Tamar Development Project, Systems Integration Asia brings you an overview of the capability, and features of the AV solutions installed in this new development.

Simultaneous Interpretation System in the LegCo Complex The Council meets in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex to table subsidiary legislation, papers and motion debates which the media and public are welcome to view from the public galleries.

Council members present may address the Council in Cantonese, English or Mandarin.

To assist members of the Council, media and the public present, a Simultaneous Interpretation System has been installed to deliver real-time translation in Cantonese, English or Mandarin to all the individuals present depending on their language requirements. This Interpretation System is available in the Chamber, Conference Rooms, Press Conference Rooms and public seating areas and can support up to 700 simultaneous users.

The solution features a Central Control Unit, automated control of delegate microphones and simultaneous interpretation distribution and an Interpreter’s Desk and Headphones.

Over 5000 units of professional grade products from international brands, such as BOSCH, BSS, Crestron, Fujitsu & Panasonic, have all been seamlessly integrated with a single custom-made software solution ensuring highquality audio distribution, and control, throughout this new development.

Electronic Voting System & Information Display System in the LegCo Complex One important function of the Legislative Council is to scrutinise legislative proposals contained in bills,

subsidiary legislation and other motions.

Throughout the meetings, Members can express their views on issues of public concern or call on the Government to take certain action.

To consolidate the Members’ views, an electronic voting system has been installed in the Chamber, as well as Conference Room 1, to facilitate Council members voting. Each Member of Council has a desk installed with an Information Display System (IDS), which, apart from providing internet access and word processing applications, also shows the latest voting results from the Chamber and Conference room.

The Multi-Voting Software allows the Chairperson to prepare for voting, specify vote-related parameters, display and print voting results and also start and control voting. The Voting Panel is used for attendance registration, parliamentary voting and for/against voting options.

The voting system manages the records including vote date, time, motion arisen and individual votes. This detailed record enables the Council to present to the public the voting results efficiently via the official LegCo website that can be easily accessed.

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

To ease the adaptation of the video conferencing system, operations and maintenance training was provided to the users and the relevant support teams. A support team from Media-Go Engineering is also on-site to ensure that the users can receive support as and when required, ensuring that the systems are utilized as affectively as possible.

Over 100 units of professional grade products from international brands such as Cisco Telepresence (former ‘TANDBERG’) have been seamlessly integrated at the complexes.

Conference Facilities in the LegCo and Central Government Complexes

Another 3000 units of professional grade products from international brands such as BOSCH, Crestron & Fujitsu have all been integrated with custommade software solutions ensuring highaccuracy data management, throughout this new development.

Video Conferencing System in the Central Government and LegCo Complexes Intended as the prime civic core of Hong Kong, the Tamar Project brings together offices of the Chief Executive, Executive Council, the Secretariat, 11 bureaus and other government offices within a centralized modern development.

The Central Government and LegCo complexes adopted the concept of an intelligent building utilising the latest information and telecommunications technologies, meaning staff productivity and effectiveness is enhanced under a collaborative working environment through the integration and deployment of telecommunications infrastructure and the centralized management of these technologies.

The new Central Government Complex provides not only the space to enable the centralisation of government policy units but also the HD Video Conferencing Systems which enable effective communication between these government agencies and other non-governmental parties located throughout Hong Kong or even the rest of the world. Access to HD Video Conferencing is available in many locations throughout the complex, with portable systems also available to enable this service in locations where it is not installed permanently, whenever it may be required.

The LegCo and CGC Complexes have a total of over sixty conference rooms located in various Bureau and Council Offices. Each conference room must be adaptable to allow the different seating arrangements required by the various Policy Units and Council departments that utilise the facilities.

Professional AV systems are installed throughout the conference rooms in the LegCo and CGC Complexes, including, multi-media presentation systems with projectors and electronic whiteboards that facilitate interactive presentations and audio conferencing systems with panel, speaker, microphone and tailormade software that enable a smooth and clear discussion in high-capacity conference rooms. To make all the integrated systems more user-friendly, a central control system has been installed in most of the rooms, which can control all of the room’s AV system as well as the environmental resources including temperature and lighting. In this way, rooms are converted into state-of-theart conference facilities, meeting the growing needs of the policy units and LegCo business.

Media-Go Engineering provided a costeffective total room control solution.

Users are able to control all of the room’s AV and environmental resources including VCRs, DVD/CD players, projectors, screens, lighting and more.

In addition a Video Distribution Amplifier provides correct buffering and isolation

INSTALLATIONS

and distributes the signal to two identical outputs.

Over 2000 units of professional grade products from international brands such as Christie, ClearOne, Crestron and Kramer have all been seamlessly integrated with a single custom-made software solution ensuring highaccuracy data management, throughout this new development.

Display Systems in MultiPurpose Hall, Central Government Complex From annual report announcements, Policy Addresses to Budget Forecasts, each proposed policy or amendment has to go through public consultation and a council discussion before it can be enacted, amended or repelled.

Throughout various political procedures, press conferences are arranged at different stages to keep the public aware using sources such as newspaper, television & radio broadcasts and online media channels.

The CGC Multi-Purpose Hall is designed to be the perfect venue for press briefings, conferences, interviews and media visits. A professional 8.4m x 4.2m video wall display system is installed comprising of 24 units of 70” DLP projection modules. Instead of a one-off background, the display system gives the flexibility of illustrating the content being discussed digitally with an option to interact with the displayed sources with the content no longer limited to static text, but also able to show photos and videos. It leads to a breakthrough of the previous presentation formats available and enables politicians to now make use of more advanced multi-media equipment to facilitate the communications between government, the public and the media.

The CGC Multi-Purpose Hall features more than 100 units of professional grade products from international brands such as Barco, Christie, Crestron and Kramer which have all been seamlessly integrated. www.mediago.com.hk

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Technology In Design

EXPO 2012

TM

CALLING ALL SYSTEM INTEGRATORS, TECHNOLOGY INSTALLERS + ELECTRICIANS CEDIA Expo will showcase the latest and greatest technology solutions from the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best security, home cinema and more. It will educate, motivate and inspire. It will provide you with the opportunity to take advantage of the comprehensive seminar programs designed for you by the global industry body that sets the standard in custom electronic design and installation.

International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Shanghai Wednesday 7th November 2012, 09:00am - 5:00pm Thursday 8th November 2012, 10:00am - 5:00pm 10:00am - 3:00pm Friday 9th November 2012,

www.cediachina.com ENTER CODE CCEX11

CEDIA Expo is strictly a TRADE ONLY event on 7-9 November and proof of trade identification will be requested on arrival at the venue.

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

INSTALLATIONS

Hong Kong Phoenix TV chooses VTRON’s Visionpro® LED DLP™ Video Wall system to continually operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The LED light source of the engine is capable of super wide colour temperature management to meet the requirement of the studio for a low colour temperature of 3200K, and to allow adjustment of the projector’s colour temperature freely from 2800K to 10000K according to the requirement of colour temperature for on-site supplementary illumination environment. This totally overcomes the awkward situation of the TV station having to turn down the illumination in the studio to match the colour temperature.

VTRON’s display solution meets the high demands required of a display system in a broadcast studio environment Hong Kong Phoenix Satellite Television Company Limited recently adopted a display system developed by VTRON TECHNOLOGIES LTD. Phoenix TV’s business as a media group covers more than 150 countries and regions including Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Africa and enjoys great reputation around the world, and thus has high expectation of its studio equipment capabilities. So when the time came for the company to choose a display system for its studio, it shopped for a display that would meet its needs and eventually decided on the VTRON display.

The VTRON display system was installed as part of a studio reconstruction project

by Hong Kong Phoenix TV. The original display wall system by another wellknown video wall supplier featured UHP lamps. As the service life of these lamps were fixed, it became apparent to Phoenix TV that the longer they were used, the more frequently they needed to be replaced which resulted in increasing maintenance cost. The technical team at the TV Station also realised that if the lamps were not replaced on time, the display screen occasionally suffered inconsistent image quality, which from their viewpoint as a well-known international corporation is fatal. Therefore during the reconstruction of the studio, they requested bidding from suppliers to provide a world-class high-quality multi-screen display wall system with outstanding performance in terms of colour temperature, brightness,

stability and environmental friendliness, and other key features.

VTRON came up tops. According to VTRON, Hong Kong Phoenix TV’s choosing of VTRON’s Visionpro® LED DLPTM Video Wall, rather than the original internationally well-known brand screen, is the best indication of VTRON’s outstanding performance.

The VTRON system configuration for the TV Studio featured a 2x7 and 4x6 50” SXGA+ LED Series.

Outstanding performance The VTRON system introduced for Hong Kong Phoenix TV is outstanding in terms of accuracy of colour temperature, high uniformity of colour, security and stability. For instance, the system adopts an environmental LED light source, and the accuracy of colour temperature for live camera ensures reliability for live broadcasting as well as the display effect of the video wall, etc., enabling the

The Automatic Colour and Brightness Management (AutoCBM) of the VTRON system also ensures the video wall features colour uniformity and ensures the display image of the highest quality.

The efficient after sales service is another factor that helped VTRON win the project. VTRON provided efficient service from the dismantle of old equipment, installation and commissioning of the new system within one week according to the client’s requirement, without affecting daily work of the live broadcasting. Hong Kong Phoenix TV was absolutely pleased with VTRON’s efficiency, equipment performance, stable and one-stop service, and the overall services and coordination.

Better visual experience The increasing demand of TV/ broadcasting customers, in choosing a suitable system for their studio is highly dependent on the quality and stability of the display technology. VTRON’s system, whether in colour performance, or in brightness or service, exceeded the expectations of Hong Kong Phoenix TV. This has helped Hong Kong Phoenix TV significantly improve its programme effects and bring to audiences a brand new visual experience. www.vtron.com

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Charles Sturt University clinical simulation centre incorporates REACH System REACH Recording and Streaming System works in tandem with AMX control system to support contemporary practice based learning Charles Sturt University has been delivering education and research across inland Australia for over 100 years. From its establishment in 1895, CSU has grown to become one of the largest universities in the country, generating more than $500 million and 5000 jobs for rural and regional communities each year.

CSU operates 4 faculties; Arts, Business, Education, and Science. Within the faculty of Science, sits the School of Biomedical Sciences, which offers courses in a broad range of health related areas, typically with a focus on hands-on learning and commitment to rural health. Graduates are highly regarded by industries and regularly gain employment before graduation and receive prestigious industry awards.

Clinical Simulation Centre In February 2012, CSU unveiled its new AUD2.8 million regional interprofessional clinical simulation centre located at their Bathurst campus in NSW. The centre has been primarily designed to enhance the skills and work-readiness of the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s graduates in its Nursing and Paramedic programs, using a facility that supports contemporary practice based learning.

The solution The simulation centre uses a server based REACH Recording and Streaming solution to capture images and sound in conjunction with HD pan tilt zoom cameras, ceiling microphones and speakers, wall mounted HD displays and ceiling mounted projectors. The

system spans multiple teaching spaces and breakout and scenario rooms, to simulate various medical scenarios for the training of paramedics and nurses.

How it works Three operators, located in the central control room, can simultaneously control, record, and stream three different medical simulations. A map of the building is displayed on the AMX control system touch panel in front of each operator, with the different building areas such as breakout and scenario rooms, nominated as zones. From here, the operators are able to select from the multiple available zones to create their simulation area of operation.

The large display in front of each operator acts as a virtual video wall that presents combined live picture-in-picture images from the HD camera feeds located in each room, as well as the diagnostic monitor feed from the Sim Man. Up to 6 images can be displayed at one time. Via the AMX touch panel, operators are able to select which images to send to the REACH system to simultaneously record and/or live stream.

The REACH System was supplied

by Product Imports who are the sole distributor across Australia and New Zealand. www.productimports.com.au

Teacher, students and PPT signals synchronously recorded.

Total solution from record, live streaming, auto publish and review.

Dedicated hardware embedded in system, IP based solution.

Compatible with Windows and Mac OS, can integrate with LMS platform, such as Moodle and Blackboard.

Encoders (RTSP/TS)

Multimeida Recording & Streaming System

Lecture Capture

SZ REACH TECH CO., LTD. Address: Floor 6, Building B, Kingdee Software Park, Hi-Tech 12th South Road 2, Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518057, P.R.China Tel: +86-755-86073600 E-mail: info@szreach.com http: //en.szreach.com/

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BAP integrates Christian Dior’s new training Centre at TaiKoo Place Solutions ensure objectives of energy-saving and ease of operation are met

A 40” Samsung full HD display is installed at the reception area

Christian Dior is one of the world’s top fashion houses which provides good quality products as well as top-end customer service. To maintain their significant market share in Hong Kong, Christian Dior opened a new training centre to ensure that its staff were well equipped to provide the high standards expected of them. The new training centre in Hong Kong is located at the eastern end of the TaiKoo Place complex.

BAP’s past projects with Christian Dior in Guangzhou and Nanjing, China, provided a fruitful experience and understanding of system functional needs and requirements of the customer.

The primary design objectives for this project was to achieve energy-saving and ease of operation.

The JVC indoor dome colour camera

Light Dimming Control Lutron Grafik Eye QS preset lighting control system was integrated to control lights in the training room and to display different scene modes with the touch of a button. The system is able to recall different scene settings, such as presentation, meeting and training mode etc. Furthermore, the dimming feature of the system enables significant energy saving by consuming less electricity yet producing comfortable light level.

Sound System The sound system in the training centre included Extron DMP64 digital matrix

Colour Touch Panel Control BAP integrated a Extron TLP 710TV, high-end colour touchpanel control, to simplify operations for all the equipment.

The touchpanel was designed to control the LCD projector, the motorized projection screen, video playback, sound system and the lighting control. The touchpanel control allows full-motion video display for preview and monitoring using Extron’s twisted pair technology.

Its built-in speaker provides audio for the full-motion video preview and audible feedback from button presses.

This touchpanel fulfilled the user’s technical, operational and budgetary needs. In addition its contemporary design complemented the aesthetics of the environment.

processor, MVC 121 Plus stereo mixer, XPA 2001 power amplifier and SI 26CT two-way ceiling speakers.

Display System A 40” Samsung full HD display is installed at the reception area to continuously playback the most updated fashion and/or company story of Christian Dior.

Closed-circuit television system (CCTV) CCTV cameras were installed in the role playing section. The JVC indoor dome colour cameras that were installed have 27x optical zoom for high-definition quality video. One of its special features: day and night recording function works well with the energy-saving light dimming control by Lutron. The camera is able to record highly clear video in the dark, even after the Lutron light saving mode has turned on the lights after office hours.

BAP was able to achieve the objectives of the customer as well as ensure that the training centre was on par with current technology trends. www.bap.com.hk

The control system

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Vega at the helm of an interactive multimedia experience Projection technology brings to fore an interesting experience for visitors “The Majesty of All Under Heaven:The Eternal Realm of China’s First Emperor”, a current mega exhibition being staged from 25th July to 26th November 2012 at the Hong Kong Museum of history, provides a feast for the eyes of visitors.

The exhibition coincides to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The Qin dynasty was an epoch-making era in Chinese history that bore witness to the unification of China. The first Emperor established a centralized bureaucracy and a unified political

The Qin and their Horses Large and irregular screen projections portray Qin ancestors’ development from tribal to state, and the unification of China by the First Emperor.

Secrets of the Terracotta Army Projection of Q&A to enhance visitors knowledge of Qin’s mausoleum and terracotta army.

www.vega-global.com

system; standard laws were enforced over the country; the systems of weights and measures, currency and writings were standardized; and cross-border transportation and communication were improved by introducing the chidao (expressways) system.The completion of the Great Wall fortified frontier defence.

All these policies reinforced the central administration that eventually emerged as the prototype of China’s imperial rule for the following Millennia.

province, including terra cotta warriors and horses, lifelike acrobat figures, and rarely seen bronze objects. In addition to the precious relics, the Museum has introduced a series of multimedia programmes supported by advanced audio-visual equipment, new virtual tour technology and computer programming.

Ensuring that the exhibition provided a surreal experience within the multimedia zone was Vega, who was responsible for the audiovisual set-up.

This mega exhibition features 120 sets of cultural relics of the Qin dynasty that were brought in from Shannxi

The Multimedia Experience Zone features several multimedia programs.

Including:

True Colours of the Terracotta Warriors

Secrets of the Underground Kingdom

Projector light effects recreate the production and restoration process of the terracotta figurines.

Through augmented reality technology, visitors experience a simulated Qin army, waving charioteer and dancing cranes.

Journey into the Mausoleum of the First Emperor

Terracotta Warrior Workshop

32 units of projectors are applied to display vivid images and videos on a 4000 feet curved screen to take visitors back two thousand years ago and witness the construction of the First Emperor’s Terracotta Army pits. Edge blending technology makes the video perfect to present the archaeologists’ excavation of the Terracotta Army and Bronze Chariots pits.

Interactive equipment enables visitors to have a chance to be creative and repaint the warriors through touch screen computers.

The multimedia zone illustrates the creative impact of Audiovisual technology in a modern exhibition. It allows the audience to go through the content in an interactive manner and generally captures their attention and understanding compared with traditional style static displays. It can be expected that more and more exhibitions will adopt similar approach in future.

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Singapore City Gallery revamped with greater interactivity Mediatechnic Solutions optimises AV solutions at the City Gallery

(L-R) Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Colin Lauw with BalaKrishnan and Kumar of Mediatechnic Solutions

The Singapore City Gallery, the only gallery that tells the story of the nation’s physical planning efforts, was revamped with greater interactivity and richer content. With 10 thematic areas and more than 50 audiovisual and interactive exhibits spanning three floors over 2,400 square metres, visitors can now look forward to a more dynamic and multisensory experience, as they learn about Singapore’s remarkable planning story.

Ensuring the dynamic experience was Mediatechnic Solutions, a Singaporebased company, that specialises in integrating AV solutions that feature a seamless experience for the visitor.

Some of the key highlights of the newly revamped Gallery include:

Opened since January 1999, the Gallery has been attracting close to 200,000 visitors each year. The Gallery was revamped in the second half of last year to provide the Public with a better appreciation and understanding of the challenges and constraints Singapore faces in land use planning, as well as the thinking and processes behind the transformation of the country’s physical landscape. The Gallery also frequently entertains foreign policy makers and dignitaries.

• One of the world’s largest architectural models showing a bird’s eye view of Singapore’s central area, with a new light and sound show.

• A 270-degree panoramic sights and sound show in 24 hours Singapore.

Main Contractor responsible for the entire interior fit-out. Mediatechnic Solutions Pte Ltd was responsible in bringing to fruition the creative concepts for the gallery by means of audio, visual, interactive and control system solutions.

• A dynamic 8-player game to plan for a city, balancing needs and grappling with trade-offs.

• A brush off historic buildings and streets with the hand, to reveal what these have become today.

• An interactive design-you-ownmemorable-skyline.

The Singapore City Gallery is the visitor centre of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore’s landuse planning agency. Creative Edge Consultants Pte Ltd was the Project consultant, Winkle-Picker Ltd, Sugar Design Consultants Ltd from the UK and Multimedia People Pte Ltd were responsible for the creative, and Kingsmen Exhibits Pte Ltd was the

Gallery One: The 270-degree panoramic show This segment of the Gallery has two aspects to it. One is for the visitor to selfdiscover. This is achieved via the four 46” Samsung LFD with interactive touch films that are installed within the gallery. The interactive touch screen enables the visitor to explore what other cities do with regards to City Planning.

The second aspect is the panoramic show which essentially shows the Day Life in Singapore from sunrise to

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

sunset, featuring ordinary folks going about their life. This aspect is triggered automatically.

The 270-degree panoramic show creates an immersive environment for the visitor.

As visitors pass through this segment to the next, they will pass by the Periods of Progress “wall”, which features 32” Samsung LCD panels with playback from a networked HD players.The visuals showcase Singapore’s transformation from a fishing port to the thriving city that it is now.

Projecting the images onto the curved screen are nine Panasonic DZ6710 projectors that feature ultra short throw lens. Balakrishnan, Managing Director of Mediatechnic, comments, “The height and projection distance was the major constraint in this gallery. The Creative Designers did not want the projectors to be visible, so we had to work with a tight space and at the same time ensure full HD projection coverage on five staged curved screens which measure over 30m in width and 2m in height. We chose the Panasonic DZ6710 projectors with ultra short-throw lens as they came with builtin edge blending, Keystone correction as well as Geometric correction that helped us ensure that the images projected were seamless.”

INSTALLATIONS

Gallery 4: Learning the fundamentals This gallery enables visitors to try their hand at city planning through a dynamic 8-player game, balancing needs and grappling with trade-offs. The Gallery features 8 integrated touch screens that are networked and linked to a main server. The main server is linked to a Sanyo projector at the Gallery, that projects the city planning and constraints faced through the input by the players as it happens, onto a projection screen.

The audio component in this segment features 6 units of JBL speakers and subwoofers powered by Crown amplifiers and the loop HD playback is handled by Alcorn Mcbride HD Binloop Video Server.

Gallery Two: Augmented Reality The top floor of the City Gallery enables a visitor to see a bird’s eye view of Singapore’s central area, which is the carefully scaled architectural model that takes centre stage on the second floor.

What makes this an interesting view for visitors are three CAM Surveyors that are placed in this segment. Visitors are able to use these CAM Surveyors which are on rotatable heads to move, aim and highlight a specific hot spot of the architectural model. The visitor can then press the information button on the monitor that will trigger a video that features information about the spot.

For this to work, Mediatechnic integrated the hardware that included the touch screen monitor, PC, Firewire camera as well as a digital GYRO compass and a tracking software for each stand.

As the architectural model is also the main component of a light and sound show, the touch screen monitors are automatically disabled when the show is in progress.

Gallery 3: Conversations The Progress segment leads to Conversations which is in Gallery 3.

Conversations, crystallizes visually, that it is not just the city planners but that everyone has a part to play in realising a liveable city and features different stakeholders sharing their thoughts.

The Gallery features three aspects: the Planning, Consultation and Realisation aspect of City Planning. As a visitor steps into the zone of each aspect, a sensor triggers a video clip of a stakeholder sharing his/her thoughts. Due to space issues, Mediatechnic installed a Hitachi Ultra short-throw projector with a mirror rig. The images were then projected onto a diffused rear projection screen. Audio for each zone is handled

by Kramer ceiling speakers powered

by Kramer power amplifiers.

Gallery 5: Planning Sustainability This gallery features the different strategies that have helped to shape what Singapore is today. Visitors can discover how land is planned for live, work and play opportunities. Visitors interact with this interestingly shaped table top to gather information. To achieve this seamless interactivity, Mediatechnic created two areas. One area of the table top surface features an invisible touch surface . This is where the visitor interacts to gather information. It is a fixed area which features, hidden under the table top, a 23” touch foil. The bigger surface area is where the respective projection takes place. This is achieved via a Sanyo projector that is installed on the ceiling and projecting onto the table that features a front projection film.

By doing this, Mediatechnic was able to

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achieve one image seamlessly. A hidden PC with dual output connected to the projector and touch screen enables the interactivity. Kumar, Project Director of Mediatechnic, highlights, “we calibrated the touch screen area to ensure that the menu pages were of the right size so that it did not overwhelm the overall image.”

The Other Galleries Gallery 7 tagged as the Urban Design Gallery enables visitors to learn the art and science of creating memorable buildings and streetscapes that help make Singapore more distinctive. The gallery features Samsung LCD panels linked to touch screen and trackball that allows visitor to interact and be creative in designing Singapore’s skyline.

Gallery 8 is a Study Area that shows how Singapore’s central area has changed over the years by exploring the different layers of the city through flip books.

Gallery 6: Brush with History Definitely a very engaging gallery.

This gallery showcases to visitors how proactive conservation efforts have helped retain important historic buildings and structures as well as the rich identity and heritage of many areas. Visitors literally use their hand in a brushing motion over a picture showcasing how a building looked in the past, which then triggers a sensor to reveal how the building looks now. This was also one of the more challenging aspects of the project. Firstly kudos to the camera person, who had to trace back and find the correct angle of each building so that the transformation from Old to New will look smooth and not jagged. This in itself is monumental. Kudos too to Mediatechnic who had to use their years of experience in ensuring that the Brush effect worked smoothly. Hardware wise Mediatechnic installed a rear projector connected to a PC. The challenge was to detect the motion, with the motion detectors actually being placed at the back of the screen, rather than the front.

Mediatechnic installed two infra-red illuminators behind the screen with filters to filter out the wavelength so as not to overshoot the area. A camera detects the motion from the infra-red illuminators and sends the signal to the PC which triggers the present look transformation.

The screen installed is a one piece Acrylic screen. “For safety reasons a mineral free glass with no tint was installed in front of the Acrylic screen. This is to ensure that it does not reflect the infra-red back to the camera, which would have caused the system not to function as it should,” says Balakrishnan. Balakrishnan also highlights that the interactive software played a crucial role in ensuring that the correct overlays were featured, which was critical to the overall experience at this gallery.

Gallery 9 highlights the Distinctive Districts in Singapore. Visitors can experience the buzz and distinct characters of Singapore’s unique districts through the visual projection at the Gallery. The video is triggered via capacitor touchpad and edge-blend projection by 2 x Hitachi Ultra Shortthrow projectors. Audio is provided

by Self-powered Active Kramer speakers.

Gallery 10 is the main attraction featuring an exclusive bird’s eye view of Singapore’s central area, which is considered as one of the largest architectural models in the world. This gallery features 17” touch-screens with built-in speakers, which enables visitors to gather information about the central area. This Gallery is also where a light and sound show has been introduced.

A rear projection screen in the centre showcases visuals, whereas audio is handled by 4 units of JBL speakers, power by Crown amplifiers. Projection with gobo effect is handled by Digital Projection projectors that have been installed on the ceiling.

Networked Central Control System The main control room, features a centralised control for the various audiovisual, playback devices, projectors, PCs and lighting systems around the galleries.

There are also hidden sub control rooms within some of the galleries to enable localised troubleshooting if necessary.

Considering that control is to be handled by non-technical staff, Mediatechnic ensured that the customised show control system with a GUI screen that is user-friendly. The customised show control has two variations – a simple start system and shut down system model that automates the entire gallery start-up and shut-down at the touch of button on the screen and another model that acts as an independent control for each individual gallery. If there is a need, programmes can be superceded via the control system. Mediatechnic also provided wireless hand-held control touchscreens with customised programmes installed for the Main CAM Show. This enables staff to control each segment wirelessly. This is especially useful when there are VIP guests who are brought through the Galleries. It also enables the hosting staff to take control of the automated programmes and control it to keep pace with the Guest.

Visitors to the City Gallery have given the experience a thumbs up. The additional interactive elements that the Gallery has implemented has provided an extra zest to the entire experience, which has achieved its objective of getting visitors to better understand and appreciate planning challenges.

“We’ve learnt through trial and error, that for those of us who create permanent exhibits, it is not about featuring the latest technology or the latest toys we see at the trade shows. Instead, the shows and exhibits we create, the visitors must “get it” easily and be reliable for years rather than months. And the partnership between our project’s show-ware Multimedia people and the AV systems people - Mediatechnics worked well to share equal responsibility, to design, install and correct snags, and ultimately delivered excellent interactives and large screen video shows,” says Colin Lauw, Senior Manager, Corp Comms,Urban Redevelopment Authority.

As for Mediatechnic, it is another feather in their cap, in providing an AV system that enhances the overall experience for the visitor. www.singaporecitygallery.sg www.mediatechnic-solutions.com 3min video clip of the Gallery’s interactive and videos at this link: http://vimeo.com/46992982

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The future of digital audio networking and control has been changed forever. Visit the Q-Sys website at qscqsys.com and see how to put Q-Sys to work in your next system design.

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

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TECH TALK

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

HDbaseT - is it the silver bullet?

Technology- the mainstay of today’s living both at home and in business. Every time a technology appears to get to a next level, it brings along a hype even as it provides for some insightful debates across the technology forums. HDbaseT is one such technology format creating significant amount of excietment. Would it translate into the next Big Technology for the AV World?

Here is a take from Hemant Vats-CTS, in a Tech Talk with SIA. technology in Enova, DigtalMedia 8G+, XTP, and for many others, it is HDbaseT. HDbaseT is a connectivity technology optimized for whole home and commercial multimedia distribution over Cat5e/Cat6 cables. The technology was originally developed by Valens Semiconductor, headquartered in Hod Hasharon Israel. In June 2010, HDbaseT Alliance was formed by LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens Semiconductor to promote and commercialize HDBaseT technology.

Soon, the technology rolled out itself for commercial applications.

Of late, we have been witnessing a sudden excitement in the industry towards twisted pair-based HD transmission. This was unthinkable, say, seven or eight years ago when every manufacturer started shipping boxes that could send AV signals over CAT5.

Those were analog devices that were merely converting single ended AV signals to differential signals, easy to extend over UTP cables. These devices, switchers and extenders came out with a lot of fanfare promising everything under the sun. However, most of these were simple transformers with AV connector on one end, and a RJ45 on the other. The so called ‘twisted-pair’ technology has been around for over a century- after all, it was invented by the famous Alexander Graham Bell! Yes, if you remember correctly, the same brain that invented the telephone.

So, what’s different this time around?

Well, like the idiomatic small-is-big, it is simply a lot. We are talking about uncompressed full High-Definition content, complete with video, audio and encryption riding on a single Cat5e/ Cat6 for up to 100 meters. That’s not all, the same cable can carry 2-way control signals, power up to 100watts and 100MB Ethernet. Every manufacturer is adding their own spice to it, and calling it by their own brand name. The underlying

Rumour mills, sometime back, got suddenly abuzz with the talk that HDbaseT could kill HDMI. It’s a far cry from reality. For the simple fact that HDbaseT actually uses HDMI TMDS (transition-minimized differential signaling) to encode the data using a proprietary scheme. What may possibly happen though is that devices start shipping with standard HDbaseT RJ45 connectors (like the PT-VW431DU LCD projector from Panasonic). Even in such a scenario, at least in the near future, they’ll probably have a HDMI port in addition to the RJ45.

Pulse Amplitude Modulation

HDbaseT uses the same fundamental technology as PAM or Pulse Amplitude Modulation used by the Ethernet to encode and transmit signals. However, unlike the Ethernet, it does not use packets or Internet Protocol (IP). Also, although PAM modulation is used, it is different from the PAM-5 or PAM-16 standard used in Ethernet. HDbaseT uses proprietary encoding based on PAM, running at a lower frequency than PAM-5.

HDbaseT, through its 5Play feature set, currently supports the following: *Uncompressed video/audio up to 10.2 Gbps *Maximum cable length of 100m, including support of up to 8 hops x 100m *Standard Cat5e/6 LAN cable and standard RJ-45 connector *Up to 100W of power – can be utilized to power a remote device *100Mbps Ethernet pass-through *Supports HDCP, CEC, EDID *2-way control signals, like RS232, USB etc. (USB 1.1 speeds only, can also be used for IR)

Now, why should it be so hyped in AV circles, and how would it impact, if any, the AV industry?

Simply, it could by huge. The switchers that form the backbone of any AV system would also transform completely. The process has already began, and firstgen versions are already coming. These SuperSwitchers are assuming a more holistic role rather than just switching signals between sources and displays.

Here, it makes sense for these devices to have controlling capabilities eliminating the need for third party control systems.

They shall also have the option to power end devices, eliminating a lot of cabling and the need of local power too. This would in turn allow for better energy management (read more green!) as devices no longer need to be on stand-by to listen to control signals. They would be powered on by the SuperSwitcher, and then sent to the control commands.

Now that the digital audio signal is already in the switcher, the audio DSP could be built-in as well.

HDbaseT may even invade the space that CobraNet and other similar technologies are currently commanding. With Ethernet

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Devices may start shipping with standard HDbaseT RJ45 connectors

TECH TALK

HDbaseT solves a lot of problems, but we would still need to find solutions for others. Every ‘SuperSwitcher’ would come with its own armoury of weapons, like the ability to scale endless display resolutions, ability to embed/de-embed audio, support to extend standard control buses (e.g. USB) etc. Another key element would be the software that comes along to configure, program and manage these devices. Of course, in the end, it would always boil down to the price!

One thing is for sure, HDbaseT is here to stay and evolve, early adopters would reap the benefits.

riding on our systems, we may be able to finally do away with the guys who give us the most headaches- the IT managers! We no longer need a separate data port on the conference table, we have it already. On the flipside, IT guys might not allow our SuperSwitcher to sit on their networks at all!

Let’s take another example- digital signage. All the signage systems that we know today, use a display connected to an industrial PC or controller. This PC/controller talks to the server(s) over Ethernet and displays content provided, based on the setting it receives from the

server(s). This may change soon, as we may see displays from Samsung / LG coming in with a built-in HDbaseT port.

One single Cat5e/6 cable would allow Full-HD Content and power this to the display device. The content management system would sit in the server room, maybe its just one large server with multiple HD decoder cards.

So, is HDbaseT the silver bullet (or the Ram Baan, depending on your faith) for all your AV troubles? Is all you need from now on is the SuperSwitcher?

Hemant Vats, CTS, ACE, DMC-D, is a Principal Consultant at Extreme Global Systems (EGS), a Gurgaonheadquartered design consultancy firm. An acknowledged writer that he is, Hemant had authored several features and papers on diverse subjects within the AV technology domain. SIA thanks the author for his support. He can be reached at hemant@hemantvats.com

Well, not really.

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TVKLSZ H]HPSHISL ¹ HUK ¹ KYP]LYZ 6\[Z[HUKPUN HJV\Z[PJ WLYMVYTHUJL (]HPSHISL PU ^OP[L HUK ISHJR" J\Z[VT JVSV\YZ VW[PVUHS VOTZ HUK = VWLYH[PVU ,HZL VM PUZ[HSSH[PVU ZH]LZ [PTL HUK TVUL` .YPWWSL® IYHUK JHISL MHZ[LULY HSSV^Z \W [V H UPUL MVV[ OHUN ^P[O PUJS\KLK RP[

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SYSTEMS INTEGRATION ASIA AUG/SEPT 2010 50

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

VOICE BOX

AVSI Meets The Cloud hoped. IP - the Internet Protocol – mostly kept it organised. These new networks were inexpensive to use, and rapidly began to steal fixed-line business from the traditional Telco’s.

The world changed - it shifted on its axis - to the point where society had an accelerated connectedness. We now had a mesh or cloud of information all around us, moving at the speed of light.

Add in Google and Wikipedia, and the age of enlightenment had arrived.

Microsoft Visio - the IT department’s drawing software of choice in the 1990’s.

Distance Is Irrelevant Knowledge based services have moved to where they can be delivered most economically - look at the massive explosion of ITES businesses in India.

Data is stored where it can be stored economically - I backup my iPad files to the cloud and I have no idea where my data actually is - it doesn’t matter Apple replicates it across several centers (hopefully). I call my client in India using Skype and pay nothing for the pleasure..... distance is free ! The Internet information cloud is working for me.

Things Change in AVSI

Neil Langford Head-Multimedia and Technology Spacematrix

What is this Cloud thing we keep hearing about - and why is it so damn important ?

Some time back in the 1980’s (some of us remember those years) the IT world was starting to become very complex. The world was rapidly changing from circuit switched networks (Plain Old Telephones Services - POTS) to packet switched networks, and something called “The Internet” began to seriously impact our lives.

Packet switched networks were fantastic things - billions of data packets zooming along to their destination on shared highways, and re-assembling at the far end into something meaningful - we

Instead of being charged for long distance voice and data, we now only pay for the “last mile” - the local loop as it used to be called. Distance is irrelevant - once we send our data packets onto the Internet cloud we pay the same if they’re travelling next door, or across the globe.

But why “cloud”? It’s less tangible than “mesh” but the impact is the same.

And it must have been easier to create a meaningful graphical symbol in

In October of 1990 I was sitting in a fairly grungy hotel in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, desperately trying to connect to Compuserve to send my email. The first Gulf War was raging just down the road (literally), security was mad, hotel rooms were impossible to get, battle tanks were parked outside the hamburger places, but heck we had AV systems to build!

Our biggest danger was not the war – it was running into a camel while driving to the construction sites.

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Compuserve was a data network, alas no longer with us. Access was by telephone and modem, and the phone lines in Saudi were not really flash in those days. My laptop sat on the floor and I could usually send my meeting notes back to Australia fairly efficiently, for the cost of a local call. You see Compuserve had gateways all over the world, which I could access for a minor fee. I paid for the local loop, and the distance was free - even in those days.

I was in the Saudi desert to commission meeting rooms for oil giant Saudi Aramco, and we were using AMX control systems. Of course that meant we needed software to deliver the smooth operations and easy functionality that I’d promised my client. So my site notes went by email back to Australia using Compuserve, which back then was a modern X.25 packet switched network. That’s when it got ugly.

real time on my cell phone for peanuts.

He/She can connect to the remote room using a desktop VC application and watch as he makes changes to the lighting presets, closes the curtains, raises the screen and turns the projector on and off ... and on and off ... and on and off again ... where is that code bug anyway?

So we live on the cloud - this story was written in three different locations, backed up to Google’s servers occasionally, and eventually transmitted by the cloud to somewhere (?) so it could be published.

I don’t know where it went - I don’t need to - I just send it. The packets get there.

We all live on the cloud, its called the internet.

Basically, a complete non-programmer can go online, key the relevant system data and select an appropriate touch screen style template. The AMX cloud service then does the rest – it produces software files for the master processor and the touch screen, whilst also generating a set of system documentation and connection guides.

It really is a fantastic service.

Here is a screen grab of the initial setup page :

You can request a login to the RPM service here : http://www.amxrpm. com/reqform.aspx Cloud Action #2 –Keeping The Message Up To Date

Whatever digital signage system you are dealing with, if it does not use the cloud you probably need to think again.

Products like the Spinetix HMP players are very smart low power “clients” that can sit on the back of a signage screen or video wall and quite happily play custom content all day long.

My clients can update the programming from anywhere – distance is irrelevant – and the unit can also decode live video streams using popular codec standards.

This is a really slick and pervasive internet cloud enabled product, generating real income for service providers and solving real problems for end users.

Which Cloud Next?

How can your business leverage the cloud? Just try thinking in terms of services, instead of products, and you’ll be a lot closer to finding the answer.

Our clients are looking for effective and successful communication – in their signage, their business meetings and video conferences. Find a way for the cloud to help you meet that need and you’ll be on the way …..

Switch To Today - We’re On Cloud Nine

In the same situation today, almost all our major system components have that beautiful RJ45 socket on the rear.

So the code updates can be delivered instantly on the internet cloud. The cloud can carry images of the room back to the programmer, and I can talk to him in

I’ve seen this tool in action, and it is going to change the way we work. It will also change client’s expectations pretty quickly, so be ready. Whilst top programmers (like my friend Marty) will always be in demand, AMX RPM will certainly put a dent in the work flow of those who program basic projects.

Cloud Action #1 - AMX Rapid Project Maker What a contrast! Recently we’ve seen the release of the new AMX cloud based product, designed to automate software production for typical meeting spaces and systems.

Besides providing neat and stable code on a repeatable basis, this service addresses two other major industry problems – the lack of truly talented programmers in our industry, and the problem of code continuity for client sites.

My smart (brilliant?) friend Marty wrote all the code. He had to dial a telephone call from Melbourne (Australia) to Al Khobar (Saudi Arabia), get his computer modem to connect to the AMX system modem, and then send through his updated code, at 9600 baud. That’s bits per second - darn slow by anyone’s standards. There was no cloud folks ....

say when a contractor (heaven forbid) goes bust, or has a disagreement with a client.

It is still in the early days, but I can see all sorts of opportunities developing here.

As a consultant, I’m hoping that we can provide our own customized templates to be used by the system, so that projects for a major client can be produced with a common and repeatable user interface.

Importantly, as AMX retains a copy of the code on their cloud connected system, our clients can be assured of access to their software when things go bad – lets

The author is Head-Multimedia and Technology at Spacematrix, the Singapore-headquartered multinational design firm.

He is an internally acclaimed authority, and an acknowledged writer on AV trends and technologies. SIA thanks Neil for his articulate presentation of the concept. He can be reached at neil.langford@spacematrix.com

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

60 years of serving the conferencing and meeting industry SIA Wh SIA: What specifi ific changes h h have shaped up DIS since its acquisition

by Shure early last year?

Danish Interpretation Systems (DIS) is one of the world’s leading brands of advanced conference electronics.

This year the Company celebrates its 60th Anniversary. DIS offices are found in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Malmö, Stockholm, Oslo, Bangkok, Dubai and Mexico, serving customers from all over the world. DIS prides itself with its “State of the Art” conference systems which includes some of the most prestigious installations in the world. The company was also acquired by Shure early last year. SIA talks to Thomas Frederiksen, General Manager of DIS, about the company and its future.

THOMAS: Acquiring DIS was based on acquiring a manufacturer with a complete competitive conferencing product line. So, our starting point is a complete line of products already acknowledged on the markets! Looking into future developments is where the very strong synergy between the companies become apparent. A number of joint development projects have been initiated and we’re very excited about this and even more excited to see these product hit the markets!

SIA: What strengths and competencies have been built into the company since the acquisition?

THOMAS: As mentioned above, DIS has a very high degree of competence within the conferencing area. So, talking about new ones being built into the company is difficult. However, areas where DIS have worked on specific problems, Shure has, as a renown microphone manufacturer supported with knowledge and testing equipment.

SIA: DIS sports an “unconventional” tag to its mission. What does it mean? What’s so unconventional about its mission?

THOMAS: This was introduced in connection with the launch of the DC

Thomas Frederiksen General Manager of DIS

6990P touch h screen microphone i h i unit 3 years ago. It symbolizes our drive to constantly challenge ourselves to be “unconventional” as this supports innovative thinking. This has helped in a large number of areas where DIS has been first to launch new solutions, e.g. cat5 cabling, open database structures etc.

SIA: The conferencing market is huge, and is increasingly getting video-oriented. DIS hasn’t currently considered this. Any strides in the direction of adding its own video component to its audio solution?

THOMAS: With the already mentioned DC 6990P touch screen unit, DIS has, indirectly, taken a small step in this direction. These units are all able to handle video, however, our central units have not supported this functionality.

DIS will launch a line of new central units shortly, all with the technical capability to handle video! We are now considering how to utilize this functionality in our units.

SIA: Being an essentially European company with large stakes in the Middle East, how has DIS been handling the recent economic crises in these two markets?

THOMAS: Like all manufacturers, DIS has been influenced by the financial crisis, especially in the south of Europe.

Countries like Greece, Spain and partly Italy have, as we all know, had large problems to solve. We do see a somewhat better situation in Italy now.

As for the Middle East, we have not seen any direct negative impact of the financial crisis in this region.

DC 6990P touch screen unit

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

VOICE BOX

Regional council of Paris

SIA: How about DIS’ fortunes in Asia-Pacific?

THOMAS: Asia Pacific has been only slightly affected by the financial crisis in Europe. Our main markets, e.g. China, have seen growth throughout the last years, only negative angle is that we might see a slightly lower growth but this is only a minor impact. With the support and distribution strength of Shure Asia, DIS is ready to step up our sales and market growth in the entire Asia region.

SIA: There has been stern competition from some Asian conferencing solution developers - how does DIS address this?

THOMAS: DIS has already more than 10 years ago, as the first conferencing company, invested heavily in software for the mid-to high segment conferencing solutions! Competition from Asian manufacturers mainly originates from lower segment systems and is based heavily on hardware solutions. By having our focus on both hardware and software, DIS is able to continue to add new functionality, solutions and improved user interfaces. Developing

Danish Parliament

software is capital intensive and requires a large degree of special competencies, something Asian low-end manufactures do not focus on.

SIA: What specific technologies, solutions, or service offerings, you believe, keeps DIS above the competition?

THOMAS: Other than what I have already mentioned, DIS has for several years already been able to provide online remote support for installed systems around the world. This offers peace of mind for users of our systems.

SIA: On the occasion of 60th Anniversary, what’s the road aheadin terms of technology, innovation, and service offerings?

THOMAS: DIS will continue to push the boundaries and launch new innovative conferencing solutions! Where we all have seen tremendous developments within networking in many areas, the AV-industry has not seen a similar development. With AVB being prepared, this is most likely the closest to a “paradigm” shift we have seen in the

Samsung

industry for quite some time! With Shure Inc. as an active player in the building of this standard, DIS is already working actively with our owners to incorporate this technology into the DIS conferencing product range.

SIA: From your point of view or from studies, what position does DIS hold in terms of audio conference market share? What would be its future ambition in this aspect and how will DIS achieve this?

THOMAS: Actual market share is difficult to say, at DIS we see ourselves as being part of the top 3 manufactures of conferencing solutions in the world! As mentioned, we focus a lot on providing new technologies and functionalities more than increasing market share short term. DIS has been part of this product segment for 60 years and we will be a major player in the future also. Together with our owners at Shure, we want to increase the overall market share of the DIS product line though aggressive, dedicated, new and innovative solutions. www.dis.cc

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Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

Simplifying technology as a mission of knowing the consultant’s mind is a great advantage. That is always exciting.

SIA: From the MX20 Wireless Controller 30 years ago, till the recent Enova DVX, how would you describe the technology strides that AMX has made?

Robert L Noble III, is AMX’s Chief Technology Officer. Credited with leading the development of about 200 innovative product-solutions at AMX, he is responsible for design, development and management of AMX’s key product lines.

Recently in India, in connection with what was said to be the first India ProAV Consultants’ Meet, Noble shared with SIA – in a freewheeling chat – on a wide spectrum of technology issues. Excerpts: SIA: Welcome to India. How does it feel like to be here in India, and for this event?

Robert Noble: It feels great. Not just because this is my first time coming here; and this country presents a very unique setting in many respects, but also for the opportunity to interact with a spectrum of the consulting community.

This occasion provides an opportunity to present to the knowledge community that the consultants represent what solutions AMX has for them.

SIA: What excites you to be here at this forum?

Robert Noble: The opportunity of interacting with the consultants and not only apprising them of what’s the latest at AMX but also learning and understanding their ideas and views about the market and technology makes this a very exciting event. This will help us understand the requirements in the region and work with the market players to support that direction. As an enterprise striving to make technology look and work easy, being in a position

Robert Noble: As a matter of fact, I’ve not been with AMX from its inception.

My association with it began after it already started evolving and charting new dimensions. With the very genesis being in technology innovation, the company had been growing on one innovation after the other at a regular rate. The solutions developed, and the accolades they received from timeto-time are just a testimony. The key to success at every stage has been its ability to sense the market direction, and develop suitable solutions that are not only innovative, reliable and easy-to-use but also ROI-oriented.

I can say that I have been instrumental in this successful journey of making technology easy and useful. Playing a critical role in this journey, however, are many others. Technology, however good, is of no use if it is not developed at the right time and in the right way. It is therefore, the developer teams, the technical support teams, the back-end, and the marketing, who have contributed to the success.

SIA: AMX’s mission statement itself is simplifying technology. Having celebrated its 30th anniversary recently, how far do you think AMX has succeeded in its mission?

Robert Noble: I would say, we have to a large extent, which is why we have come this long, and in a position where we are today. Having said that, it also needs to be recognized that the pursuit has to be a continuous process as the technology in this domain is continually and rapidly developing. So, while the results are tangible, it may be difficult to keep a measurement considering the holistic development all around. Like I said, the technology breakthroughs that AMX has achieved are testimony to this.

SIA: There have been many product launches during this period. Which do you think is the most impacting or game changing technology solution brought by AMX? and why?

Robert Noble: It’s slightly difficult again to differentiate, as we see every product as having a specific advantage, and charting a new direction. Since every

product development is undertaken building upon the current demand, and future requirement, some of them ought to change the game. Having said that, the Modero X series, I believe, has really been a game changing solution, and took the automation expertise to a new high.

Built with high-performance, multi-touch capabilities and elegant looks, the touch panels empower the users to operate AV equipment seamlessly and easily.

SIA: Amongst the whole lot, if you were to figure out one big ‘killer’ app, what is your pick? and why?

Robert Noble: Aah! The Enova DVX is one. It’s been a revolution. It redefined not only AMX’s mission statement but also the whole setting of a sophisticated meeting venue. The all-in-one unit, built on AMX’s proprietary SmartScale technology, simplifies the huge AV rack – meant for multiple applications – into a compact system with a wide array of functionality. The savings on time-to-set up as well as energy consumption, and the ease of use for both the installer and the end user with the latest Enova DVX solutions has raised the bar of technology simplification to a new level of innovation and excellence. That’s a ‘killer’ app, if you want to say.

SIA: Is the AV technology domain changing faster than the human comprehension and necessity? or the human genius is turning more demanding than ever and required?

Robert Noble: Hah (laughs)! The technology is always changing. While some technologies have a long life due to their innovation and ease of use, most technologies keep evolving, primarily, for two reasons- an explorative human genius, and a market place that drives new requirements. Most technologies emerge in response to a demand from the market to solve a particular problem.

The human mind explores newer frontiers seeking to solve the problem. It is a continuous process - which is why we have to be swift in pondering over the problem and prompt in resolving it.

So, while it can be safely said that it is the market that fuels any work dynamism, it can also be said that the human genius ought to explore newer systems and solution.

SIA: Does it mean that technology is caught between requirement and competition? As a technocrat and as a human, how do you look at it?

Robert Noble: It’s difficult to say. Like I said, it’s the market that drives the

Systems Integration Asia October - November 2012

technology development, and for every such development, there is bound to be some competition. As a technocrat, I feel excited with any new technology coming to marketplace, while as a human, I feel every innovation should have some contribution to improve the human life experience, and not just for the heck of it. Fortunately, at AMX, we live up to this concept.

SIA: Green is the catchphrase in today’s technology exploits; what is AMX doing in the direction?

Robert Noble: Yes, green AV is a buzz word in the industry today. However, AMX has made it inherent to its product DNA before many others took it up, and thus leads the cause, with specific initiatives for green solutions. Being an active member of the green building movement, not only our products, but our manufacturing processes are made to contribute to green environment.

This means that every aspect of the product manufacturing, the material used, the processes adopted, and their functionalities contribute to the green environment. The latest Enova DVX is the best case in point.

SIA: The sovereignty of AVSI domain is facing the big threat of, if not already happened, the invasion by IT giants. Your take on this?

Robert Noble: Notwithstanding the question of the takeover of AV by IT, the immensity of synergies between the two domains has actually been bringing them closer and closer, to a point of working together. AMX has realized this early on, which is why we have an initiative called Unity aimed at creating solutions that merge technologies of AV and IT into a common platform using a single, central controller and common cabling. AMX’s Resource Management Suite architecture is in the center of this convergence providing monitoring and control of AV system in an IT friendly fashion on the IT network. The independence of AV solutions from the IT infrastructure still exists, but more and more the two domains are being brought together and existing in the same eco system.

SIA: The technology world is also increasingly moving, if not already moved, to video and 3D. What role do you see for audio then?

Robert Noble: Any emerging technology, subject to its application, will have its impact, and so it will be for new video and 3D technologies. While the experience level with these emerging technologies is certainly higher, it needs to be remembered that they would be of little impact without an accompanying

VOICE BOX

audio experience. So, the role of audio is always going to be critical.

SIA: What technologies, you think, would dominate and dictate our tomorrow, universally?

Robert Noble: It’s the age of collaboration, and technologies that can contribute and enhance the collaborative experience will be of great value. In short, a technology that is essentially collaborative in nature and provides enhancement to the user experience will dominate the global domain.

Enterprises have already begun investing significantly in developing collaboration solutions that enhance the information exchange and/or the knowledge transfer in meeting room and classrooms.

SIA: Which market geographies do you think makes today’s happy hunting ground for technology exploits?

Robert Noble: While North America has long been home for many technology exploits, certain areas of Europe and APAC have also seen a growth in new technology deployments. I don’t think any one region has a lock on being the optimal hunting ground because they all have end users with problems that are looking for innovative solutions.

SIA: How do you view India and Middle East? How are they positioned in the global AVSI in terms of AV competence and dynamism?

Robert Noble: Both regions are very distinct, and have their own set of advantages and opportunities. Both are emerging and their acceptance to AV technologies has been rising, and therefore the AV spend has risen too.

Enterprises and individuals today are much more aware about AV technology and it benefits; they are curious to know and understand the latest advancement and the associated benefits. This is giving rise to growing market potentials in these regions.

SIA: One last thing. How would you differentiate AMX from the competition, particularly in terms of technology?

Robert Noble: Simply, simplifying technology (laughs!). We work to leverage technology to enable a positive and pleasing user experience. Balancing the use of standards and AMX innovation so that the solutions AMX provides are easy for the enterprise to deploy and simple enough that users do not have to be technocrats to enjoy it. www.amx.com

Mapping the market through consultants’ views Niclas Brattberg, AMX’s VicePresident, International Market Development, was part of the AMX’s India Consultants Meet in Jaipur recently. While it was an essentially technical programme meant for product and technology deliberations, the objective of the initiative was to understand the market trend and requirement added a significant point or two to Niclas’ interest as well.

“Consultants provide an important insight to the market dynamics,” Niclas told SIA on the sidelines of the event. “They play conduit between the manufacturer and the market; they interact with the AV users very closely, and understand their mind and requirement; knowing the consultants’ mind is at anytime imperative for us to measure the market,” he said, adding, “this helps us understand the market, and strategise our product offerings as per the requirement.”

On the other hand, while most consultants scan the market regularly, and know what’s hot on it, there may be a concept or two pretty new and they might not be fully familiar, he feels, and it is necessary to appraise them of the same so that the manufacturer can gauge the acceptability of a particular solution.

“We can actually map the market directions looking through the consultants’ view,” Niclas asserts, and “it is necessary for reaching out to the market effectively too.”

According to the AMX executive, Indian consultants are as good as anyone else in the world; they comprehend the tech trends well and are curious to explore the domain every time. While the number of qualified consultants is comparatively lesser, those who are in the trade are good in their art, he complimented.

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