13 Sep, 2018 | ETC, High End Systems
This year at the PLASA show, ETC will be joined by High End Systems at the exhibit which will be held in Olympia on the 16th-18th September.
Visitors to the stand (J38A/B) will be in for a treat as both companies present their latest products and software, including a not-to-be-missed reveal of the first member of a new product family for ETC.
Alongside ETC’s launch, the new flagship luminaire in High End System’s Sola Series range, the SolaFrame 3000, will be on the stand – as well as the SolaFrame 750 and SolaFrame Theatre. The SolaFrame series is recognised as the most advanced complete line of LED frame fixtures on the market.
ETC’s award-winning Source Four LED Series 2 family of fixtures, will be on display along with the budget-friendly line of ColorSource products including the new ColorSource Pearl variable white-light fixtures.
Consoles available for demonstrations at the show include the Road Hog 4 and new Hog 4-18 from High End Systems and ETC’s Ion Xe and Gio @5. The Hog 4-18 console is the most recent update to the Hog family, embracing cutting-edge technology while retaining the familiar control surface of previous generations. ETC’s Gio @5 packs all control requirements into a compact desk, ideal for venues with smaller spaces.
Stage engineering solutions including the Prodigy P2 hoist and QuickTouch control will feature, with specialists on hand for visitors to speak to. The new EchoTouch offers standalone intuitive touchscreen control of lighting in architectural and smaller entertainment spaces and can act as an interface with other Unison Echo products.
13 Sep, 2018 | ETC
Most dealers and rep companies have offices, a storage area, and a small demo room to show off the products they represent. Arizona ETC sales representative RC Lurie flipped that dynamic upside-down and made every area of their new 24,000-square-foot facility in Phoenix into a virtual demo room.
“The move to the new building not only brought the company together but launched a new image, logo and coherent direction for the 21st century,” said Stuart Pieloch, V.P. of Controls and Technical Services for RC Lurie. Previously the company of 60 employees had been operating out of separate buildings. Using the real estate model of creating sample rooms, they were careful not to present the building as a retail showroom, or series of vignettes, but rather as “spaces that our customers would want to create for their clients.”
The impressive two-story lobby, grand staircase and event center are all controlled by ETC’s Paradigm Central Control Server, allowing individual control of each space. The large conference room and larger event space has RGB color changing lighting either up-lighting a soffit or wall wash on a cove, all controllable by a virtual touch screen.
In addition there are multiple DMX output Gateways tied to a Mosaic Controller which manipulates color washes on an exterior wall visible from Interstate 10. Pieloch describes the effect as: “Not Las Vegas – but to stimulate the idea that customers could do that on the outside of their building.”
The private office lighting draws on fixtures from the over 80 different lines that RC Lurie represents. Each office employs subtly different techniques and instrumentation to give excellent lighting and a sales opportunity to visiting architects, engineers and consultants.
22 Aug, 2018 | Symetrix
Inspired by classic prairie-style, early 20th-century architecture and design and featuring soft lighting, rich wood, masonry, and etched glass, The Shops at Willow Bend shopping centre oozes Texas ambience paired with contemporary convenience. Anchored by Dillard’s, Macy’s, and Neiman Marcus, the big mall presents a wide variety of stores, including a focus on home décor shops. Sitting in a sweet spot along the Dallas Parkway, the North Dallas-area mall continues to grow, with new spaces still in development.
“My partner designed the original system there 15 years ago, and we’ve overseen and maintained it ever since, replacing and fixing the amps and so on,” begins Senior Systems Engineer Patrick Burke of Dallas systems integrator BBD Technology Group. “But the system needed a lot of updating. They had an outdated old DSP and a computer that was still running Windows 98. We’ve been after them for years to replace that old DSP, and recently they agreed to our proposal to install a Symetrix Prism 16×16 with an xIO 4×4 Dante-enabled analogue I/O expander. The Prism and Dante let us improve and expand their system in ways we couldn’t have done before.”
A 45-year industry veteran, Burke was an early adopter of DSP systems and has long been a fan of Symetrix processors. “Symetrix has always been a brand I like,” he confirms. “Symetrix sound quality is excellent, their DSPs are reliable, and they’re easy for me to work with. Of course, a true understanding of analogue electronics is required to program any DSP. Gain structure is a crucial issue. But assuming you know what you’re doing, Symetrix Composer software makes the job a lot easier. For The Shops at Willow Bend, we built a GUI using Symetrix software, which we haven’t done before. It’s working very well.”
The main mall requires five audio zones, with another eight zones in the parking garages. “We’ve got messages that play in the parking garages, music that plays in the main mall, emergency messages that play in the main mall and the garages, and paging that plays everywhere,” Burke relates. “We are going to install another Symetrix xIO 4×4 expander to serve a new area outside some restaurants by the Dillard’s store, and we’ll pass signal back and forth to the main unit and create another DSP string for sound going to the outside area.”
The mall’s loudspeakers are old but serviceable, and Burke is not inclined to replace them. “They have more than 400 ceiling speakers that have been there for 15 years,” he explains. “They still work, and they don’t sound bad. We have five Crown CTs 1600 power amplifiers and eight Crown CTs 200s in the central control room.”
BBD replaced the ancient Windows 98 PC with a new HP computer running Windows 10, including a touchscreen to run the new custom GUI. “Right now we’re trying to get it on their network so their operations guy can pull up the GUI on his machine and control volumes and such,” Burke expounds. “Security does it right now, and they have to go back into the rack room. I’ve got them providing me with a fibre link between the two racks, with a copper transceiver, so we can do Dante between the main machine and the other rack. I really like Dante, and with the Symetrix Prism, we now have a system that can handle all that.”
Although the upgraded system is up and running, the BBD team is by no means finished at The Shops at Willow Bend. “This mall is one of the few brick-and-mortar places that’s still surviving and growing,” he observes. “The client is happy with the improvements, and they continue to invest in the upgrade, so this project is expanding, and I see more work coming. Symetrix Prism DSPs with Dante enable us to build out the system as needed to accommodate their growth. It’s a very interesting project, and I’m enjoying it.”
14 Aug, 2018 | Bosch
Bosch Plena mixer amplifiers are at the heart of the sound setups at the new McDonald’s ‘flagship’ restaurants. These feed LC6-100S-L ceiling-mount speaker systems, which consist of 8-inch subwoofer modules and a crossover network to support four 2-inch satellite speakers, delivering BGM.
Bosch designed a configuration of its commercial sound speakers especially for each flagship restaurant using EASE Address. ‘With the acoustic analysis, we customised the sound system for each individual restaurant, to provide nothing but the best sound in each location,’ said one of the designers.
The projects were awarded to Bosch after the manufacturer presented a series of relevant case studies of previous restaurant installations to McDonald’s. Key McDonald’s decision-makers were also invited to the Bosch experience centre to hear the products in action.
‘McDonald’s has invested a lot in background music, because we know that it gives customers a good experience and brings more business,’ said Ma Lijie, director of the development department for McDonald’s China. ‘McDonald’s needs a good music system and Bosch’s wide product range meets our needs very well.’
8 Aug, 2018 | Electro-Voice, ETC
Prosound Botswana and Six Dots Botswana hosted an expo on 27 July 2018 in Gaborone.
The expo highlighted all brands represented by Prosound including Electro-Voice, ETC, DPA microphones and Prosound’s install and system solution services, with insights into their vast experience in the corporate, education, government, houses of worship and the entertainment industry.
Visitors to the expo got a hands on experience which included ETC lighting solutions and regular demos of the Electro-Voice X2 line array system, as well as the new Electro-Voice ELX200 portable speaker range and Evolve50 column speaker.
Presentations were made by various brand ambassadors and industry experts, who gave professional insight into the latest from high end professional audio products, as well as introduced us to the latest technologies. Speakers on the day were:
Gary Davies (Sub Saharan sales manager) – Exterity
Hein Pagniere (Director) – Aver, Combox
Lee Brune (Prosound training and development manager)
Siphelele Khumalo (Technical sales and support) Electro-Voice, DPA, Eurotruss
Mathew Lewis (Product specialist) ETC Theatre, film, studio and architectural lighting)
Christopher Luthando Hlanganyana (Product specialist) Bosch
This was the first expo of this kind to be held in Botswana, and was a terrific success. People from a range of industries attended, as there was something for everyone. Lighting designers, architects, sound engineers and DJs were all represented, and everyone left knowing more about Prosound Botswana, Six Dots and the services we provide. There will definitely be more events of this kind in the future.
8 Aug, 2018 | ETC
ETC and Prosound are very proud to have sponsored lighting and technical support to twelve of the National Arts Festival in Makhanda’s most prestigious venues. Lighting designers, technicians and students have all been delighted to have been able to work on such a high-end and prestigious lighting brand for the duration of the festival.
Prosound and ETC have been laying down the groundwork for a few years now to make ETC the gear of choice at the festival. Motlotlo Makhobotloane (Mac), has been Prosound’s man on the ground at the festival, working as installer, teacher and trouble-shooter. He tells me that at first, there was resistance to using ETC consoles, as they are usually brought in as freelancers, and like to be familiar with the gear they were using. Now, with ETC being installed in most major playhouses and churches around South Africa, they are much more comfortable with being sat in front of and ETC desk.
Speaking to the designers at NAF18, the one message that comes through time and time again is the ease of use of ETC and how it works in a way that all understand. Motlotlo (Mac) is in town for two weeks before the actual event starts to get experienced technicians up to speed, as well as teaching the ins and outs of the consoles from scratch. A great way to build brand loyalty.
A special emphasis at this year’s festival has been on showcasing how lighting will work in the future, so two venues were fully kitted out in ETC LED fixtures and solutions. The Masonic Front and Masonic Back boasts the simplicity of new technology, and Mac has been using the venues to showcase the following:
- ColorSource 40 Consoles
- ColorSource Pars
A combination of ColorSource LED Profiles and Lustr Profiles for Front of House.
Again, the simplicity of ETC is evident in the venue, as the touch screen consoles are accessible enough for the show’s producers and directors to have a hands-on approach to their production. The venues are ably run by freelancers Ellah Sehume, Kgaugelo Mboweni and Koketso.
Lighting designer for the festival at The Guy Butler Theatre, Darren Wolhuter was also very happy to be working with an ETC EOS Titanium Console. This prestigious, state of the art theatre hosted the official opening night of the festival, which was attended by the Mayor of Grahamstown along with several other dignitaries. Lighting technician, Sheriff (@bamanye1981), had the show up and running with ease, as he is a sought after freelance lighting expert in Cape Town.
“I own my own ETC gear, so I’m very familiar with it. More and more theatres in Cape Town are installing ETC, and with my knowledge of the product, I’m being kept very busy” enthuses Sheriff with the great hair.
All theatres running on ETC control at the festival ran without hitch, and by all accounts the festival was a huge success. Mac from Prosound was on call 24/7 to make sure everyone was comfortable with the gear, and to provide moral support for the students.
Prosound have been exceptionally committed to growing the ETC brand in South Africa, and believe that being so deeply involved in the National Arts Festival for so long is definitely paying dividends. Allowing experienced designers and students just starting out in their careers to work on ETC products has proved to be a greatly empowering endeavour, and they hope that the collaboration with the organisers of the festival will last for many years to come.
Venues that have been fitted with ETC consoles and fixtures are:
- The Great Hall, running an ETC EOS full size console with Four Port Gateway.
- The Hangar – ETC GIO, 4 x LED Series 2 Lustr profiles, and Martin Mac Auras
- Guy Butler Theatre – ETC EOS Titainium & Congo Full-size
- The Masonic Front and Back – ColorSource Consoles and ColorSource Pars, Lustr Profiles
- NG Kerk (Won Best Venue for 2018) – ColorSource 40 Console and 3 x LED Series 2 Lustr Profiles
- Graeme College – ETC Element 60
- St Andrews College – ETC Element 40
- Glennie Hall – ETC Element Console 40
- Gymnasium – ETC Nomad pack and 8 x ColourSource Pars
- Victory Theatre – On PC, EOS Nomad pack
- Rhodes Box – 3 x ColorSource Cyc
