The games begin - T

ASIA PACIFIC
September 2014
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Setting a standard
Corporate vision
Masters of immersion
Local guide to PA/VA
Multinationals flock to Asia
Virtual reality displays
The games begin:
Singapore Sports Hub opens
CASE STUDY
| Singapore Sports Hub
The Singapore Sports Hub is a shining example of a modern, digital stadium. Hurrairah bin Sohail explores
the equipment, from the infrastructure to the speakers, as well as the work put in by different integrators
that brought the project to life.
Kallang Roar redux
T
he old Singapore National Stadium,
completed in 1973, has always had
a special place in the hearts of the
country’s residents. The atmosphere of
the venue and its importance has even
been immortalized in video format with the “Kallang
Roar” movie.
The Singapore Sports Hub requested a
proposal for a unique, fully digital experience
for the facility and for the customer.
- Dr. Christoph Fink, T-Systems
Hence when plans were unveiled to
rebuild the stadium and upgrade it high standards had
to be met.
infrastructure for the venue.
Essentially it is the infrastructure that connects all
Demolition of the old stadium began in late September
Dr. Christoph Fink, vice president of delivery at
the facilities here at the Singapore Sports Hub – the
2010 and the foundations of the new Singapore Sports
T-Systems in Singapore, explains the brief he received
National Stadium, the Aquatic Centre, the Water
Hub were laid in February 2011. Construction duties
for the Singapore Sports Hub: “The Singapore Sports
Sports Centre and the OCBC Arena – together.” The
were handled by Dragages. Built on the site of the old
Hub requested for a proposal to build a unique, fully
active network involved laying down the cables and
stadium the 35 hectare Singapore Sports Hub offers
digital experience for the facility and for the customer
infrastructure, including wireless access points, across
users more services and facilities.
experience as well. For such a facility you need to use
the entire complex.
The sports complex comprises a new 55,000-seat
National Stadium with the largest free-spanning dome
modern technologies across the entire event lifecycle
that customers would experience.”
in tthee world,
wo d, including
c ud g a retractable
et actab e roof;
oo ; a 6,0006,000
seat OCBC Aquatic Centre; 3,000-seat modular indoor
OCBC Arena, built to host multiple sports; as well as
Dr. Fink continues: “The second component was the
two data centers which are present on the facility here at
tthee SSingapore
gapo e Sports
Spo ts Hub.
ub. Thee data centers
ce te s contain
co ta the
t e
Infrastructure
and applications
the Water Sports Centre situated along the Kallang
servers and facilities that are integral to run the business
applications and media content delivery needed for the
venue.” The data centers T-Systems deployed comprise
Basin. In addition, the Sports Hub also houses lifestyle
With the old stadium being demolished, T-Systems had a
of Cisco Blade servers and chassis along with Hitachi
and le
learn
arning
ing op
optio
tions
ns suc
such
h as
as a re
retai
taill mall
mall,, llibr
ibrary
ary an
and
d
blank
bla
nk can
canvas
vas to wo
work
rk wit
with
h. Dr
Dr. Fi
Fink
nk say
says:
s: “Th
“There
ere we
were
re no
storag
sto
ragee.
musseum wh
which
ich ex
exhib
hibits
its Si
Singa
ngapor
pore’s
e’s sp
sport
orting
ing he
herit
ritage
age.
legacy
leg
acy ap
appli
plicat
cation
ionss that
that we ha
had
d to
to acco
account
unt fo
forr. Bas
Basica
ically
lly
Walkin
Wal
king
g arou
around
nd the Si
Singa
ngapor
poree Spor
Sports
ts Hub re
revea
veals
ls
Wi h a pr
Wit
p oje
j ct of this size, multipl
p e different parties
we started from gr
g ound zero when the olld Nati
ationa
onal
that a number of Cisc
C sco
o swit
witche
chess and
and rou
router
terss have
have al
also
so
were engaged to deal with the audio and visual demands
Stadium was demolished. The new Singapore Sports
been used as part of the active network. Together the
of the Si
Singa
ngapor
poree Spor
Sports
ts Hub. T-Sy
T-Syste
stems
ms, an in
infor
format
mation
ion
Hub wa
wass buil
builtt with
with an en
entir
tirely
ely ne
new
w infr
infrast
astruc
ructur
ture.”
e.
dataa cent
dat
centers
ers an
and
d the
the ICT in
infra
frastr
struct
ucture caan respecti
tivelly
and communication technology provider that has the
The deliverables for T-Systems are broken down into
pedigree and experience to take on a project of this
three components by Dr. Fin
Fi k. Reg
R arding them he says:
statur
sta
ture
ure havi
aving
n wor
ng
worked
ked
d on m
mu
ultiiple
p st
stadi
adiums
diums in th
thee
“Thee fi
“Th
firs
rstt ccomp
mpone
onent
nt wou
would
ld
d bee the acctive
tiv
i e netw
network
ork.
k
passt, was
past
a taaske
sked
d with pr
provi
ovidin
ovi
ding
din
g the
be considered to be the heart and neural network for
the Singapore Sports Hub.
T Syst
T-S
ystems
yst
ys
ems
ms
were
we
re
als
lso
so
iin-c
n- har
n-c
harge
ge
off
providing
pro
the
th
h business appliica
cations for
o the co
compl
mplex. Dr.
Finkk eelab
Fin
labora
bora
o tes
tes:: ““Las
Lastly
Las
tly, we prov
prov
rovide
ro
ide
d d the
thee bus
busine
ine
iness
ness
appliccati
app
a ons
o th
t ems
m elv
el es whi
w ch
h are
ar esssen
sentia
tiall to
to
create
t th
thee d
digi
i tall experience required. On
O
onee ha
hand
nd
d th
there
the
ree are
are th
the
he cust
cust
ustome
omer
mer ffaci
aci
acin
ciing
ng
34 | September 2014
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Singapore Sports Hub | C A S E
application such as the online booking system used to
reserve facilities such as the basketball courts and so on.
Digital signage,
IPTV and ICMS
On the other hand you have the applications which are
wrote a server side update fixing this problem within the
week, before rolling out a firmware upgrade for the end
Pave Systems, a Singaporean integrator, was brought
or the Event Booking Management system together
in to help with the Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) and
More creative integration work from Pave for the
with ERP and CRM applications.”
of cabling to each display.”
the Integrated Command Monitoring System (ICMS).
digital signage and IPTV installation also meant cost
software
Products from AMX fill the roles of master server,
efficiency and savings for the Singapore Sports Hub.
packages from various vendors which were customized,
integrated controller, set-top box and digital signage
Hall narrates another anecdote: “The Singapore Sports
configured and integrated by T-Systems. They run
players while Samsung displays (procured by the
Hub planned to have 154 (later expanded to 300)
on the Cisco servers at the data center in a Microsoft
Singapore Sports Hub) function as end points.
signage displays around the venue running a mix of
applications
comprise
standard
The east and west ends of the
new National Stadium boast a
Daktronics 468 x 810 20HD giant
screen each.
points. This also meant we could run half the amount
necessary to run operations, such as the control system
The
environment. On the customer facing side, visitors to
In addition to the digital signage, it is also interesting
digital signage and IPTV. The traditional way of doing
the Singapore Sports Hub have the option of booking
to note that visitors can find 15 special information
this is to have a dedicated digital set-top box with
their tickets online, printing them and having them read
kiosks designed by and built specifically by T-Systems.
storage at each end point, which is very flexible but also
quite expensive.”
at the venue at the Ski Data turnstiles that have been
These kiosks display information regarding the venue
installed. But designing the customer applications was
and have an active display area of 698.4mm x 392.85mm
not
ot straightforward.
st a g t o wa d.
with
w
t 1080p
080p resolution.
eso ut o .
The installation at the Singapore Sports Hub decided
to ta
takee a d
different
e e t track.
t ac . Hall
a eexplains:
p a s: “What
W at we d
did
d
Dr. Fink talks about some of the special requirements
Jeffrey Lim, managing director at Pave, speaks
the finished customer applications had to meet: “The
about the IPTV system: “The IPTV system leverages the
signage end points in two central
online booking system which we have deployed is based
infrastructure put in place by T-Systems. They created a
locations (for redundancy) and then
on a standard booking solution. However you have
VLAN for the purpose of streaming video. That provides
stream the digital signage content
special
i l laws
l
and
d regullati
tions in Si
Singapore th
thatt specif
ify
the bandw
th
d idt
idth
h we requ
quire
ire an
a d ensu
nsures
res th
that
at the reesou
source
rcess
to MPE
MPEG
G only
l (I
(IPTV
PTV)) d
decod
ders
Data centers and
wireless network
the ne
need
ed to cap
captur
turee the
the NRI
NRIC
C numb
number
er of the cu
custo
stomer
mer
with the Singapore Sports Hub was to put the digital
for th
thee IPTV
IPTV sy
syste
stem
m are
are ade
adequa
quate.
te.”
locate
loc
ated
d at
at each
each di
displ
splay.
ay.”
Cisco blade chassis,
servers, switches and
routers
Tech-Spec
and th
then
en mov
moving
ing fo
forwa
rward
rd the
there
re is the ad
addit
dition
ional
al
Barnab
Bar
nabyy Hall
Hall wh
who
o is
is the
the dir
direct
ector
or of Sen
Sennen
nen De
Desig
sign,
n,
Halll cont
Hal
continu
inues
es to exp
explai
lain
n the
the
requirement of differentiating between Singaporean
consultants who were employed to provide project
advantages of the approach: “This
citi
itizens, permanentt resi
esid
dentts and
d so on and
d so forth
th.
managementt serviices
ices and
d tech
echni
hnical
icall ad
advic
vic
vice
ice as
as well
welll as
as
approa
app
roach
roa
ch mea
m ntt we cou
could
ld red
duce
So our soluttion ha
had
d to
to comp
mp
plyy wit
w h thes
the e requ
equ
q ireemen
ments.
ts ”
hig
gh leve
vel design
g input, worked closely with both Pave
the cost of each end poi
p nt byy
ICCC system
The
he digitized access system is also beneficial for endd
and
d T-SSystem
temss on
on the
the pro
r jec
ro
ject.
t. He reccoun
ounts
tss som
o e of
of the
h
som
somewh
omewh
ewhere
ere in
n th
thee regi
regi
g on
n of
of $1
$1,500
500
50
users
use
rs and op
pera
rator
ors of the
the com
comple
plex.
x. In
I cas
casee of high
challenges that were encountered
d whi
while
le ins
instal
tallin
ling
g the
the
which
whi
ch add
addss up if
if the
t quantity of
AMX touch panel,
controller, switcher and
receiver
volume
vol
ume tr
traffi
afficc, us
usher
herss with
with mo
mobil
bilee hand
hand sc
scann
nners
ers ca
can
nb
be
digita
dig
itall sign
signage
g : ““Th
The se
set-t
t-top
tt-t
op box
o to
t pr
p ovi
ovide
de con
contro
ol for
fo
d pla
dis
lays
y are
ys
arre ta
taken
ken in
n ac
accou
cou
unt.
ntt Th
his
is
dep
de
ploy
loyed
ed to spe
sp
peed
ed up
p the proce
proce
pr
ocess
ss of entry
ss
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ntry
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ry to
o the
hee ve
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ue.
the
h di
d spl
sp
p ayy cou
could
ld onl
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ut ASC
ASCII
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comman
mand codes.
somewhat
a limits the totaal amou
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unt
n
Dig
gitizat
z ion
i n allso hel
e ps
p pro
p vide accu
ccurat
r te metrics and
The displays
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however wou
ould
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onlyy accept
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pt
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annels
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gardin
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h number
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v sittors
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or atte
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HEX co
c mma
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o
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particu
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AMX
MX
www.inavateapac.com
STUDY
(if yo
you
u need
need mo
more
re itt iss veryy
>
Hitachi storage
Kramer HDMI cable and
DVI repeater
Samsung 24”and 55”
displays
TVOne quad multiviewer
September 2014 | 35
CASE STUDY
| Singapore Sports Hub
The turnstiles at the Singapore Sports
Hub are able to read tickets printed by
the customer and are an important part
of the digital experience.
Samsung end points for the digital
signage at the venue can be found in
lobby areas.
Multi-monitor control consoles can be
found in the control rooms around the
Singapore Sports Hub.
An AMX 10-inch touch panel allows for
easy selection of applications.
easy to expand), but saves a large amount of money.”
>
The solution was only able to be implemented
thanks
to
the
infrastructure
accessible
by
the
IPTV systems. Hall credits T-Systems: “The fact that we
could take this approach was also due to the extremely
high speed and fully redundant network running around
the stadium, allowing us to allocate very large chunks of
bandwidth for the digital signage streams.”
As mentioned earlier, Pave were also responsible for
The ICMS system consists of five linked
command and control rooms to monitor and
control 18 different applications ranging
from the CCTV to the roof control, weather
management and MRT system.”
- Barnaby Hall, Sennen Design
providing the integration for the Integrated Command
and Monitoring System (ICMS) while Sennen Design
Audio and visual systems
systems for operations as well as two Venus 7000
is equipped with five control rooms, one located at
Electronics & Engineering was tasked to fulfill the
& Heath iLive 112 digital mixer, Tascam CD player and
National Stadium, OCBC Arena, OCBC Aquatic Centre
audio and visual needs of the Singapore Sports Hub.
recorder as well as a HP Compac Elite 8300 PC installed
and the Water Sports Centre each with a fifth redundant
Having worked in a similar capacity for the original
to run Dante software.
control room being located at the adjacent Singapore
National Stadium back in the 1970s, returning to work
Audio for the stadium is provided by six EAW MQX
Indoor Stadium venue.
on the new Singapore Sports Hub was a homecoming
speakers, 35 EAW QX speakers and 48 EAW SB528Zp-
of sorts for Electronics & Engineering.
WP dual 18-inch subwoofers installed at a cat-walk
were the stream leads representing T-Systems for the
same aspect of the project. The Singapore Sports Hub
Hall gives a brief introduction to the ICMS system:
player servers. The control room also houses an Allen
“The ICMS system consists of five linked command
Gary Goh who is the deputy managing director
all around the venue. These speakers are accompanied
and control rooms to monitor and control 18 different
at Electronics & Engineering, speaks about how the
by 70 Powersoft K10 amplifiers, 26 Powersoft K2
applications ranging from the CCTV to the roof control,
equipment for the project was selected: “When it came
amplifiers and 43 Symetrix Symnet Edge DSPs which
weather management and MRT system.”
to the AV equipment there were certain performance
are also mounted across the stadium. Further, four
The main control room, referred to as the
requirements that we had to meet. For example the
Shure VP89M medium shotgun microphones encased
Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC),
speakers needed to meet certain sound pressure level
in Rycote windshields have been placed around the
shows the effort that has gone into ensuring that
(SPL) requirements and we had to take this into
stadium for use in broadcasting and media applications.
the proper facilities to manage the Singapore Sports
consideration when choosing which products to install.
Four amplifier rooms located across the venue
Hub have been provided. A main control console
Similarly there were size and resolution specifications
contain Symetrix Edge Frame Dante network audio,
as well as two three-man control consoles from SJ
for the screens in the stadium.”
Manufacturing can be found in the room. The ICCC
In the new National Stadium, Electronics &
Tech-Spec
Digital signage and IPTV
Almosiac HW-MOSA
mosaic generator
AMX Vision2 Master
server, controller, set-top
boxes, digital signage
players, COMP5-SERVE
composer
Netgear smart switches, Krone patch panels and Dell
Precision PCs.
also houses a six by two video wall
Engineering has installed Daktronics screens at each of
The audio system for the new National Stadium
comprised of 55-inch Samsung
the cardinal directions. On the east and west end of
represents a significant upgrade from the setup
displays mounted with the help of
the stadium stands a dedicated Daktronics 468 x 810
found previously. Goh elaborates: “Obviously with
XLT brackets.
20HD giant screen. The north and south stands boast
the new stadium we have implemented cutting edge
a Daktronics 36 x 7380 20MT electronic ribbon each.
technology. The audio system for the previous system
controllers, matrix switchers and
A Daktronics Allsports console has been installed for
was somewhat limited. Now the stadium has a full
receiver have also been used in the
sport scoring.
AMX touch panels, integrated
ICCC while a TVOne quad multi-
The equipment rack for the setup has been placed
range four-way system that covers highs, mids, lows
and subwoofer requirements.”
Datavideo TLM-170HR
monitor
viewer is also present. Kramer HDMI
in a control room on the fifth level of the stadium
Moving on to the OCBC Arena, which is a modular
Mediastar 778-S-SD-HD
encoder
cables and DVI repeaters have also
and the location gives operators a bird’s eye view of
multi-purpose indoor venue, Electronics & Engineering
been employed.
the stadium. The control room has two Show control
has provided a number of audio and visual solutions.
36 | September 2014
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>
CASE STUDY
| Singapore Sports Hub
Thhe
TThe
he AAlle
Allle
All
llllen & He
HHeat
eea
eat
eath
atth iLiLi
iLiiv
ive
vvee 112
11112
12 iiss the
he m
mixe
ixer
ixe
ixer
xxeeerr of
of
chho
choi
ccho
hoi
hoiicee at th
the Si
Singap
n ooree Spo
Spor
poo tss Hub.
por
ports
Hub
ub.
b
This Daktronics 320 x 512 10MN LED
display graces Hall 1 of the OCBC Arena.
With the Water Sports Centre being located next
to the Kallang Basin, EAW speakers have been
mounted on top of a tower.
Up in the cat-walks of the new National
Stadium EAW speakers and subwoofers
are mounted to provide audio.
Multi-Purpose Indoor Hall 1, which can be used as a
network switchers, Symetrix Symnet Edge DSPs and
result is a modern stadium equipped to deal with the
basketball court, has two Daktronics 320 x 512 10MN
Powersoft Duecanali amplifiers. As with the other parts
digital age.
LED displays while another two Daktronics 320 x
of the Singapore Sports Hub an Allen & Heath iLive
With the various control rooms all connected
512 LED displays can be found in Hall 2 as well. The
digital mixer, a Tascam CD player and a PC are present
to the same infrastructure operators can monitor
equipment rack for these displays in hosted in a control
in a control room as well.
the venue from any location. The addition of a
room located on level 2 of the venue and houses two
By the diving area of the OCBC Aquatic Centre
redundant control room off site but nearby can further
Show control systems for operation as well as a Venus
there is a Daktronics 300 x 480 15MN LED
provide operators peace of mind. Visitors benefit
7000 player server. There are also two Daktronics
display and the equipment rack for it, including the
from the digital experience as well from the moment
Allsports consoles installed for scoring.
usual show control system and Venus 7000 player
they start to book their tickets online but accessing
A variety of speakers have been installed across
server, is located on level 3 of the venue. Instead of
the new website and printing them to the point they
the six halls to provide audio. Hall 1 is fitted with 32
a scoring system, a Colorado Timing System has been
park at the Singapore Sports Hub and walk in through
EAW MK 2396i speakers while Hall 2 features eight
installed.
the turnstiles.
EAW MK 2396i speakers and eight EAW MK 2399i
Lastly, at the Water Sports Centre, Electronics &
T-Systems, signed to operate the venue for the
speakers. In a similar vein Hall 3 has 16 EAW MK 2396i
Engineering have mounted three EAW QX speakers on
next 21 years, is already looking towards the future.
speakers. Hall 4 and Hall 6 break the mould as they
top of a tower to provide audio for the outdoor venue.
Dr. Fink speaks of the settling in phase that T-Systems
have 56 Community DS 8 speakers serving their audio
Netgear 1000 base network switchers, Symetrix Symnet
is currently going through: “Obviously there is always
needs. Hall 5, the smallest is terms of size, features 16
Edge DSPs and Powersoft Duecanali amplifiers can be
room for improvement when it comes to operations.
Community DS 8 speakers.
found in the amplifier room. The control room for the
We are getting familiar with the Singapore Sports
The speakers in the OCBC Arena are serviced by two
Water Sports Centre differs from the others in that it
Hub, learning how to operate it and being more
amplifier rooms on the venue. These contain a mixture
utilizes a Mackie Analog audio mixer, instead of the
efficient.” He continues: “We are learning how much
Allen & Heath mixers found elsewhere, along with the
of our resources we need to devote to different
Tascam CD player.
portions of the complex, what the potential weak
>
of Netgear 1000 base network switchers, Symetrix
Symnet Edge DSPs and Powersoft
Tech-Spec
Duecanali amplifiers. Much like the
Being an outdoor venue, a portable Daktronics 180
Audio
new National Stadium an Allen &
x 320 20MN LED display is used and can be set up
Allen & Heath iLive mixing
console
Heath iLive digital mixer, a Tascam
according to the needs of the event. A Show control
In Dr. Fink’s opinion the integration work for
CD player and a PC are present in a
system and a Venus 7000 player server have been
the Singapore Sports Hub has also not ended. He
control room as well.
installed at a portable flight case to use in conjunction
elaborates: “We were commissioned with the task
Community
loudspeakers
Dell Precision PC
For the OCBC Aquatic Centre,
EAW loudspeakers and
subwoofers
which houses swimming pools
Krone patch panel
complying
Mackie Analog audio
mixer
Internationale
Netgear smart switch
and AGM731F module
standards,
Powersoft amplifiers
Symetrix Syment Edge
Frame Dante network
audio DSP
Tascam CD player
with
Federation
de
Natation
Electronics
&
Goh pinpoints one of the challenges Electronics
Engineering
faced
and monitoring.”
to build a state of the art, digital stadium and
with the portable display.
&
points could be and what sectors need close control
while
working
on
the
I foresee that this will require constant change.
When
new
arrive
technologies
we
have
to
Singapore Sports Hub: “The main challenge was the
adapt and incorporate them into the Singapore
scale of the project which is very expansive and large.
Sports Hub. For example, further down the road
has
installed
34
In addition ensuring timelines are met, which is a
holographic
5399
speakers
in
challenge for any project, with so many aspects of the
become something we must consider upgrading to.
a catwalk with a 10, 10 and
project going on at all times was another challenge
We will not stop at the current levels because
Engineering
EAW
14
MK
configuration.
By
the
that we faced.”
screens and 3D imaging is going to
that would mean a few years down the road
poolside 22 EAW LS 432 column
From the amount of equipment and level of
Displays
speakers can also be found to
integration present at the Singapore Sports Hub, it
a
Daktronics HD LED
displays, electronic
ribbon and portable
display
provide audio in the corridors
is evident that a group effort involving collaboration
keep up the good work, keep up with new
and sideways. Two amp rooms
between multiple parties was required to get the
technology
contain
complex up off the ground to completion. The end
digitalization.”
38 | September 2014
Netgear
1000
base
the
Singapore
stagnant
Sports
experience.
and
keep
Hub
The
up
will
goal
the
provide
here
high
is
levels
to
of
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