29 Nov, 2018 | Dynacord, Electro-Voice
Midsummer Night’s Dream 2018 enthralls 30,000-strong audience in Munich’s Olympic Park- Highlights included top acts such as Clueso and OMD as well as Germany’s largest fireworks show
- TC Showtechnik was responsible for technical realization
- Extensive sound reinforcement focused on Electro-Voice X2 line arrays as well as XLD, XLE and ETX loudspeakers
“The X12‑128 is absolutely stunning, a real winner!”
When the 13th edition of the “Midsummer Night’s Dream Munich” took place in Munich’s Olympic Park, it did so under literally heavenly conditions: cloudless skies, a mild 25 degrees temperature and an incomparable show. More than 30,000 spectators were treated to performances by 12 top-class live acts – including Clueso and OMD – as well as street art, food trucks and the largest and most spectacular fireworks show in Germany.
TC Showtechnik was responsible for the entire technical production, for which Managing Director Martin Schulze drew on the experience of many years in the live events sector, during which he has often used systems from Electro-Voice and Dynacord.
Three stages required sound reinforcement. The two smaller stages were served by XLD line array systems, with very compact XLE enclosures fielded as front-fills and ETX loudspeakers deployed as a sub arc array. All performed their tasks flawlessly. More challenging was the provision of a suitable sound reinforcement system for the main stage, on which headline acts Clueso and OMD performed.
“It was a very open stage under a magic sky, you had to be on the look-out for reflections,” explains Schulze. The TC Showtechnik team opted for X2 full-range and X12-128 subwoofer models from Electro-Voice’s X-Line Advance line array family, which enabled trouble-free operation. The double-18-inch X12-128 sub wins particular praise from Schulze: “I honestly have no idea what is so different about this double-18 direct-radiating cabinet, but I feel the difference. The X12-128 is absolutely stunning, a real winner!”
The biggest challenge was the floating sound system covering the expansive Olympic Lake. “We invested most of our time in developing this concept,” says Schulze, describing how TC Showtechnik conceived the solution at its Eglfing headquarters. It comprised a very effective combination of Dynacord V17 bass elements topped with Electro-Voice XLE elements. “Once we had measured the system on land, all we had to do on the water was ensure that the clusters were positioned in a complementary manner.” The compact design of the V17 and the relatively low weight of 17 kg XLE enclosures were key factors in the choice of loudspeakers.
The X2 line array was driven by Electro-Voice TG7 amplifiers equipped with RCM-28 modules for monitoring and remote control. In addition, a significant number of Dynacord L2800FD and L3600FD amplifiers were deployed, prompting more praise from Schulze: “The value for money is excellent and the ease of use leaves nothing to be desired. You can quickly access the parameters via USB and the rest is simple: load the presets, set the time alignment and you’re done”. Through the use of OMNEO IP technology, audio transport, remote control and monitoring was all achieved via Dante.
20 Nov, 2018 | ETC
On November 27-28, ETC will be teaming up with Avab Transtechnik France at JTSE, and this year an exciting announcement will be made exclusively at the show. High End Systems will also be exhibiting at the annual tradeshow which takes place at Porte de la Chapelle in Paris.
Visitors to the stand – 140-141 / 162-163, Dock Pullman – will gain an overview of the product range including the latest innovations and lighting solutions by ETC and High End Systems. In Dock Eiffel, in-depth product presentations will also be available in JTSE’s Black Boxes, an area dedicated to demonstrating lighting equipment in optimal conditions.
Amongst the products on display and available for demonstrations are ETC’s Eos family of consoles – Eos Ti, Gio @5 and Ion Xe; ETC’s newly launched Relevé Spot fixture and High End Systems’ SolaFrame 3000, SolaFrame 750 fixtures and Hog 4-18 console.
Relevé Spot
The first member of a new product family for ETC – an automated fixture specifically designed for the theatre. The fixture boasts a calibrated four-colour additive mixing system and a unique Ani-gobo wheel which is paired with a dynamic customisable five-position rotating gobo wheel.
Eos
ETC’s Eos family of consoles brings award-winning colour tools and advanced, granular control of your whole rig. Flagship console Eos Ti, as well Gio @5 and Ion Xe will be available for demonstrations at the show this year.
EchoTouch
ETC’s EchoTouch controller offers compact, stylish and intuitive touchscreen control of lighting in architectural and smaller entertainment spaces. It can operate as a standalone controller giving direct control of DMX/RDM and sACN fixtures and devices, or be integrated into a larger Unison Echo control system. Users can locally program zones, presets, and sequences to control their devices.
SolaFrame
High End Systems SolaFrame series features the most advanced and complete line of LED frame fixtures on the market. The SolaFrame 3000 will be on display at JTSE. It is the flagship luminaire in the Sola Series range, boasting more than 37,000 lumen output on the wall and a 1000 Watt Ultra-Brite White LED engine.
The SolaFrame 750 will also be available, and is the most compact framing fixture in High End System’s family of automated tools, featuring a 6-50 degree zoom, rotating gobo wheel and fully continuous animation. Alongside this, the SolaFrame Theatre fixture, Hedgehog console and the latest Hog 4-18 console will be on site during the two-day tradeshow.
The Black Box No 14 will provide demonstrations of several of ETC’s acclaimed luminaires including Source Four LED Series 2, ColorSource CYC, ColorSource Spot and ColorSource PAR. Specialists from ETC, High End Systems and Avab Transtechnik France will be on the stand for visitors to talk to and ask any questions. The exclusive announcement will be made on the first day of the show so be sure to visit the stands (140-141 / 162-163) to find out what the big reveal is.
15 Nov, 2018 | Symetrix
In April 2018, after 65 years of continuous operation as a community theatre, Lakeshore Players Theatre began operating year-round in the brand new Hanifl Performing Arts Center. Located in White Bear Lake, about 18 miles northeast of Minneapolis, the new facility includes a sound system managed by a Symetrix Prism 8×8 DSP.
“The Symetrix Prism 8×8 routes audio to most of the building except for the Kids & Family Theatre, which is separate,” explains Dan Cincoski of DT Cincoski Design, who designed and installed the system. “In the main theatre, we have 10 Radio Design Labs (RDL Inc.) audio wall plates that provide inputs and outputs, converting analogue to Dante and streaming it to the Prism. We have about 40 channels of audio that can be routed via Dante through either the Prism or the Midas M31IP house mixer in the auditorium. We put analogue inputs in the lobby, two mic inputs and an aux input on a mini-jack. Those go to the Symetrix, as well, so they can do performances and presentations in the lobby.
Although most input is sent to the Prism via Dante, the processor sends audio in the analogue domain to the various speaker systems around the building. “We can send audio from the theatre or the lobby to almost anywhere in the building except for the Kids & Family Theatre,” Cincoski relates. “We send audio to the front-of-house speakers in the theatre, the Scene Shop, the Black Box, the Green Room, office areas, hallways, bathrooms, and so on.”
Symetrix ARC wall panels provide basic system control. “Using the matrixing in the Symetrix Prism, I have zones set up using an ARC-SW4 that route paging to zones around the building so they can hear the theatre or the lobby audio and control the levels,” notes Cincoski. “For control, we have a Symetrix ARC-2e panel in the lobby that controls the local audio levels, and an ARC-2e in the main theatre control room that manages nine presets for the auditorium sound. The presets include a presentation mode that doesn’t incorporate the Midas mixer, acoustic performance (just a mic to pick up sound, which is distributed to the building and listening assistance systems), practice modes, and incorporation of the lobby in the mix outputs. We also installed a Symetrix ARC-K1e wall control. It’s just basic control; that’s all they need.”
The Symetrix ARC-2e is a menu-driven remote control for Symetrix DSPs that provides 24 menus with 16 items each for control of basic function or more complex, logic-based events. It features 3 navigation buttons and an 8-character backlit display with 32 scrolling characters. The ARC-K1e provides a rotary controller with button, typically for volume control, while the ARC-SW4e features four switches that can be programmed as latched, momentary, or radio buttons for control of mute, source selection, and presets. All three models are single-gang, Decora-style faceplates.
Cincoski has been using Symetrix processors for the past four years but until now, he was exclusively using Symetrix Jupiter 8×8 DSPs for stand-alone room installs. “The Jupiter 8×8 is inexpensive, it sounds good, and you don’t have to do a lot of programming,” he observes. In fact, my original design for the Lakeshore Players Theatre called for a Jupiter 8×8. But I realised that using a Symetrix Prism and a Dante network would make it possible to have more inputs and outputs, with easier wiring, and the flexibility of matrix mixing.”
This was the first time Cincoski used Dante, but he wasn’t fazed by the technology. “With the Prism, programming is relatively easy,” he insists. “I programmed
input gain, routing, equalisation and other processing, speaker matching, and so on, and I was able to get it done fairly quickly.”
The Lakeshore Players Theatre system is in full use now, and the client is delighted. “The system sounds good, they have the flexibility and features they need, and we did it within the budget,” confirms Cincoski.” The Symetrix Prism and Dante enabled me to deliver a lot more functionality for the money than in the original plan. And the Prism has performed very reliably; we’ve had no problems.”
13 Nov, 2018 | Bosch
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge relies on customised security solutions from Bosch to ensure safe operations. The world’s largest sea-crossing bridge was opened by Chinese officials late October 2018. Spanning 55 kilometres in length, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge directly connects Hong Kong to Macao and then to the Chinese city of Zhuhai for the first time. At a total cost of USD 20 billion, it is a major boost for China’s Greater Bay Area, an emerging industrial and technological hotbed that is home to 68 million people and a showcase project for Bosch Building Technologies.
The large-scale project was built over the course of eight years using 400,000 tons of steel and includes underwater tunnels and two artificial islands that serve as customs ports. Ensuring the security of these two islands, where drivers need to present special permits to use the new bridge and pass customs checkpoints, was a priority from the start.
Securing vital infrastructure
With a proven track record of equipping critical infrastructures such as airports, hotels, commercial buildings and underground metros, Bosch Building Technologies won the contract to provide the artificial islands with video surveillance, intrusion alarms, as well as public address and voice evacuation systems.
On the island between Zhuhai and Macao, the Bosch partner Shanghai SAGA Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. installed more than 5,700 Bosch loudspeakers and over 260 amplifiers which are all managed via the PRAESIDEO Digital Public Address and Emergency Sound system. Fulfilling a key customer request, the installation incorporates 15 different models of ceiling, wall mount, and line array speakers to blend in with the facility’s modern interior. Furthermore, Bosch was able to match Macao’s local standards by custom-ordering solutions with British power cord, programmed with graphic interfaces in traditional Chinese lettering.
On the island outside of Hong Kong, which is home to a customs clearance port, Bosch partner Pro-United Co., Ltd. installed 2,200 public address speakers of various models, including outdoor speakers for the travel inspection building. Experts also adjusted 200 vari-directional array loudspeakers to balance sound variations from different building materials. “The Bosch technical team and partners used professional software to simulate the sound pressure level of a specific area and comprehensively simulate the entire project to ensure that the selected products can meet the requirements of different areas in the actual application,” said Lin Lizhi, Bosch Building Technologies.
A landmark project
Bosch also covered the island with more than 2,000 HD cameras including the FLEXIDOME, DINION, and AUTODOME series. Monitored from a security control centre on the Hong Kong-side of the island, these cameras support 24/7 surveillance of the customs clearance port, travel inspection building, Immigration Department and Hong Kong Customs Office. The PRAESIDEO systems on both islands enable security staff to broadcast live voice announcements via security call points, while multiple sets of intrusion alarm systems protect personnel and property. “We added the supporting intelligent call station PRAESIDEO, which is usually used for airport projects, in order to ensure that the staff can directly perform voice broadcasts throughout the call station during operation, thus making the security management more convenient,” said Wang Yiping, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai SAGA Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. The high-profile infrastructure project highlights the flexibility and broad customisation options offered by Bosch Building Technologies as a one-stop solutions provider.
Now that it is fully operational, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is already considered a key asset in the Greater Bay Area, also known as ‘China’s Silicon Valley’. The bridge reduces the travel time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong from four hours to a mere 30 minutes. It also creates a new gateway for travellers between vital transportation hubs such as Shenzhen and Hong Kong airports with while the integrated Bosch security solutions ensuring a safe passage.
26 Oct, 2018 | Attero Tech
Attero Tech has introduced the D2FLEXio, the first in its new series of networked AVC products – the Axon product family.
The D2FLEXio provides analog audio connectivity for installed AV systems. Each analog audio I/O features an installer selectable switch to assign input or output audio connectivity.
This provides a single product for analog audio conversion to and from any Dante or AES67 system.
Key features include dual analog flex I/O with slide switches for selecting the preferred I/O configuration, retrofit connectivity for legacy equipment to and from Dante/AES67 networks, and Dante Domain Manager support.
The D2FLEXio is suitable for networked-interface for connecting power amplifiers and powered speakers, wireless mic receivers, in-ear monitor transmitters.
26 Oct, 2018 | ETC, High End Systems
At the 2018 LDI tradeshow, ETC and High End Systems will join forces in one large-scale, combined booth to showcase lighting solutions for every show and venue. In addition to new fixtures, controls and rigging options, both companies will debut new moving lights on the tradeshow floor.
The booth showcases several new automated fixtures this year, among them are Relevé Spot fixtures, a mover that combines nearly a decade of LED optical engineering with forty years of theatrical experience. This affordable automated fixture includes impressive colour mixing capabilities, a perfectly subtle theatrical frost, and a unique Ani-gobo wheel that was designed with your theatre in mind.
The latest and brightest additions to the Sola Series, SolaSpot 3000 and SolaFrame 3000 will light up High End’s side of the booth. For a more compact frame option, the SolaFrame 1000 will be shown in the HES booth.
Also showing for the first time at LDI will be the flagship Hog 4-18 console, which features 18.5” touchscreens and a refreshed design with accessory arm mounts on each side. For advanced backstage communications, CueSystem will be in booth with new large outstation options that add even more flexibility to the cue light system.
ETC’s new Prodigy FlyPipe and QuickTouch Preset rigging solutions will also be featured in the ETC booth. The easy-to-install, easy-to-use hoist and controller fit into cafeterias, lobbies, museums, and churches that would not otherwise be able to accommodate rigging technology because of limitations of architecture, structural engineering, or budget. Perfect for use with FlyPipe, the new ColorSource Raceway will be on display as well. The lightweight and configurable distribution raceway was designed for rigs in smaller, budget-conscious facilities.
Those looking for compact and intuitive touchscreen control solutions for architectural lighting in entertainment spaces can interact with EchoTouch at LDI. Additional new architectural products at the LDI show include the Foundry line of DMX-controlled distributed power control products.
Visitors can also check out the latest additions to the ArcSystem line which include new fixture types, expanded colour temperature options, and hardwired DMX/RDM versions.
LDI attendees will be able to see many of these new products working live during a light show that will take place across the booths throughout the conference. Attendees will gather in Room N251 on October 20 for the annual Student Session led by field project coordinator Nick Gonsman.
Learn more about ETC’s LDI plans at www.etcconnect.com/LDI.
