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Vol. 15 Issue 6 ~ August - September 2016
AUDIO • VISUAL • CONTROL • COLLABORATION • UNIFIED COMMS
MCI (P) 039/04/2016 PPS 1669/08/2013 (022992)
SOFTWARE
INFLUENCE IN AV
• COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Sri Lanka
• EXHIBITION PREVIEW
InfoComm India 2016
• INSTALLATION
NCSM Science City - Part II
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
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INDIA
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KOREA
ph: +82 2 702 1601
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AUSTRALIA
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CHINA-BEIJING
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JAPAN
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SINGAPORE
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CONTENTS
Vol. 15 Issue 6 ~ August - September 2016
78
48
04 FIRST WORDS
06 NEWS
24 SOLUTIONS UPDATE
SPECIAL FEATURE
30 Software Influence In AV
COUNTRY ANALYSIS
34 Sri Lanka
PROFILE
38 Novastar Talks LED Commitment
INTERVIEW
40 A Invincyble Tech Case To The
Fore
42 'Integrated' Journey to
Excellence, Audio-Visually
TECH TALK
46 The Future of Control Rooms
48 Echo, Echo, Echo... The
Anatomy of AEC Technology
74
USER PERSPECTIVE
50 Oncam Secures Worldrenowned Luxury Jeweller
Mouawad
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
52 InfoComm India 2016
58 The IoT Asia 2016 & Commercial
UAV Show Asia
EXHIBITION REVIEW
60 InfoComm 2016
68 CommunicAsia2016,
EnterpriseIT2016 &
BroadcastAsia2016
INSTALLATIONS
72 HONG KONG: Exterity IP Video
Facilitates Decision-making at
Bank of China
74 INDIA: Helping Startups With
Creative Technology
78 SINGAPORE: Maritime
Simulation Sails Smooth With
Digital Projection
80 INDIA: The 'Digital Panaorama'
of Life and Tech Wizardry
84 SINGAPORE: Zytronic Finds Its
Way To Marina Bay Sands
86 MALAYSIA: 1 Utama Shopping
Centre Revamps Digital Signage
Delivery
VOICE BOX
88 The Future of Hospitality Sector
- Personalisation
90 ON OUR WEB
04
FIRST WORDS
Systems Integration Asia August - September 2016
PUBLISHER/
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Thomas Richard Prakasam
[email protected]
Cometh SI INDIA Awards: Celebrate
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Shireen Ho
[email protected]
BRAND ENGAGEMENT
SPECIALIST
Dennis Toh
[email protected]
ADMIN & CIRCULATION
Julie Tan
[email protected]
DESIGN AND
PRODUCTION
Jimmy Chin
[email protected]
DIGITAL PLATFORM
EDITOR (Freelance)
Rosalind Tan
[email protected]
PRINTED BY
PUBLISHED BY
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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.
In October last, I had shared in this space a ‘Challenge of
Celebration.’ That’s about SI Asia’s admittedly ambitious
initiative of launching Systems Integration India Awards,
beginning from 2016.
Ten months of perseverance, and the occasion has arrived.
Having lived and seen the industry dynamics for so long –
16 years – and from closest possible proximity, we were fully
aware of the challenges the initiative would put us to; their
complexity and their probable impact on the cause itself! With
the prospect of the common good appearing bigger than the
specter of the unwanted, we strode through, and arrived atone step to the climax point! It’s not the crescendo yet, but we
see it beckoning us, We All, with a great promise!
I recall here, what we have been maintaining every time- only
to reinforce our belief and resolve: Indian AV genius has been
producing some very incredible SI works that needed to be
spoken about, honoured, and celebrated- for a larger cause of
the industry’s common good. (This common good can mean
different things to different people.) For us, it is contributing to
a more genuine, marked, and probably mapped growth.
Spinworkz – SIA’s publishing house – being the facilitator of
knowledge dissemination in ProAV domain, took the cause up,
and we sincerely thank all those believed in our resolve and
supported it all through: our Sponsors; participating SIs; and,
of course, InfoComm Asia Ptd Ltd, with whom we have been
gelling and flowing seamlessly.
Someone WhatsApped me the other day: “we need both ups
and downs in life to make it identifiable. For, a straight and
smooth line – even in ECG – means we’re not alive!” I liked it;
likened too!
Sri Lanka: Between Optimism & Ambiguity
Our Country Analysis this time is about Sri Lanka, and I guess,
I had an apt title to it. Changing political and socio-economic
times have apparently brought some refreshing changes to the
AVSI milieu in the island nation, but the parameters have some
more distance to make before they connect to a definable
structure. You will notice the SIA feature is not the regular
way this time, but the factors explained. With a perceptible
optimism amongst the stakeholders, the Lankan AV industry
appears to be making some humble steps forward.
Ram Bhavanashi
Editor, India & Middle East
[email protected]
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06
NEWS
d&b audiotechnik joins AVnu Alliance
reason we have committed to support
AVB/TSN by joining the AVnu Alliance as
a Promoter member”, continued Perales.
INTERNATIONAL: Leading loudspeaker
systems manufacturer, d&b audiotechnik,
has announced it has joined the AVnu
Alliance, the industry consortium that
fosters the adoption of AVB/TSN
(Audio Video Bridging/Time Sensitive
Networking) protocols and an open
ecosystem of certified products.
According to d&b product manager
Vicent Perales, the move is a logical step
for the company. “d&b is known to be
a supporter of open standards, such
as OCA (Open Control Architecture,
recently ratified by the Audio
Engineering Society as AES70),” he
commented. “Joining the AVnu Alliance
and supporting AVB/TSN as open audio
transport protocols is another good fit
for us.”
“Besides offering interconnectivity
solutions for other relevant audio
networking protocols, such as Dante,
we constantly strive to drive technology
forward within our industry, and for this
Gary Stuebing, AVnu Alliance President,
is delighted to welcome d&b to the
consortium. “d&b has earned its
reputation as one of the world’s top
high end PA suppliers thanks to the
consistently high quality of their products
and their perpetual desire to innovate.
The company’s decision to join the AVnu
Alliance alongside similarly high-caliber
pro audio companies is proof-positive
of d&b’s forward thinking philosophy.
The move further ratifies AVnu’s position
at the vanguard of interoperable,
open standards-based networking
technology.”
www.dbaudio.com
AVID Wins Prestigious India SME 100 Award
INDIA: AV Integration Distribution (India)
Private Limited – the Bengaluru-based
AV/IT-enabled services enterprise – has
recently been awarded the prestigious
India SME 100 Award for 2016.
Supported by Ministry of Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprises (MMSME),
Government of India, the prestigious
award initiative every year considers and
selects 100 top performing enterprises
under the MSME segment from across
the country for the honour.
Notably, AVID’s exceeding performance
in both the aspects contributed to
its clocking 7th position, amongst an
overwhelming number of over 49,000
companies across all SME segments in
the country, vying for a position among
the top 100.
The company, co-founded by India’s
leading systems integrator Kaushik
Mukhopadhyay, and his wife Mahua,
offers consultancy, project management,
infrastructural services, and export
projects. The company expertise also
includes Unified Communications,
Augmented Reality, Video Collaboration,
Environmental Control, Digital
Entertainment, and Energy Management.
While Kaushik is well-known in AV circles
across the Asia Pacific as MD-CEO o f
Integrated Audio Visual, Mahua, with
her 20 years of professional experience
in Corporate segment, currently heads
InfoComm India’s ‘Women in AV’
initiative.
“It’s an honour we take with both pride
and humility,” Mahua said about the
laurel. “Pride as it speaks about our
achievement, and humility as it also
speaks about our perseverance. That’s a
great combination of value-add.”
Commending his team efforts, Kaushik
added, “This award means a lot to us.
AVID is all about our great team and
their efforts and this national award
is a performance indicator of how we
have fared as a company across all
segments of SMEs in India, not just the
AV industry.”
The Award was presented to AVID
representative at a glittering programme
organized recently in the Indian national
capital of Delhi.
www.avidindia.in
08
NEWS
Mindstec Distribution Extends its Global Partner Distribution
Network
ASIA / MIDDLE EAST: Global ProAV distributor Mindstec Distribution
has announced the expansion of their
existing portfolio, with the addition of
strategic partnership tie-ups with Altia
Systems, Muxlab and T1V.
Mindstec’s strong systems collaboration
distribution platform has also led to a
partnership with T1V, which will see the
company holding distribution rights
across Africa, Asia, India and The Middle
East.
While Mindstec’s relationship with
Muxlab previously extended across the
East Asian region only, the company has
leveraged their global reach capabilities,
to now also represent them across South
Asia, The Middle East, Africa and India,
through their exclusive distribution
network.
Whether in the form of an interactive
wall, interactive table, digital signage,
or a mobile application – T1V’s primary
mission is to boost human interaction
and engagement with one another,
through the use of exclusive technology,
powered through patented multi-touch,
multiuser software that transform public
spaces into more dynamic environments.
Muxlab’s products are found across a
number of applications which include
CCTV security and surveillance,
classroom video, digital signage, home
theatre, guestroom entertainment,
podium presentation and boardroom
projection systems.
Mindstec has also tied up with Altia
Systems USA for their Panacast cameras
which are unique solutions for BYOD
and UC environments. Panacast cameras
create immersive experience with any of
the collaborative Apps in the market.
On the new parternships, Syed Abdul
Wahab commented, “Our partnerships
with these two brands, combined with
our partnerships with other leading
organisations, has led to us being able
to provide a unique mix of collaborative
solutions to our customers.”
“Our strong global presence and reach,
has led to these and other premium
brands to form strategic partnerships
with Mindstec, to be their exclusive
distribution partners, across a multitude
of regions, which ties into Mindstec’s
philosophy of not moving boxes, but
being a client centric collaborative
solutions provider, offering unparalleled
leading edge technology and service to
our clients, globally.”
www.mindstec.com
Matrox and PanoTek Partner to Offer Innovative Video Wall
Pixel Delivery Solutions
ASIA PACIFIC: Matrox® Graphics Inc.
has announced a new collaboration with
PanoTek®, an AV systems OEM based in
Melbourne, Australia. This value-added
partnership provides a new series of
high-performance, turnkey video wall
controller solutions to AV and systems
integrators in the Asia Pacific region.
With a diverse product portfolio of video
wall and pixel distribution systems for
projects of all sizes, this partnership
greatly simplifies integration efforts and
provides Matrox customers with access
to local service and expertise.
PanoTek controllers are offered in a
range of cost-effective and scalable
configurations and are well suited for
a variety of markets, including digital
signage, boardroom, operations/process
control, and security & surveillance.
Designed for enterprise and critical 24/7
operation, PanoTek systems have already
been commissioned on a number of
high-profile projects in sectors such as
transportation, healthcare, utilities, and
defense.
“PanoTek’s state-of-the-art video wall
controllers offer numerous features that
were previously only available as luxuries
in this market space,” says Mark Bush,
ANZ regional sales manager at Matrox
Graphics Inc. “Deploying a video wall
solution shouldn’t be overly complicated
or overly expensive, and that’s where
PanoTek comes in. They take all the
guesswork out of the process—offering
a centralized and specialized source
for hardware, software, service and
support—allowing you to integrate a
turnkey solution at your customer site
with ease.”
Milton Taylor, managing director of
PanoTek, further notes, "We have been
working hard to develop a range of
solutions for advanced display wall
control and collaboration, and have
received excellent feedback from
integrators about the functionality,
performance, and value of our systems
thus far. Continuing to expand our AV
partner base is the next logical step
in furthering our service of the APAC
market, and we invite integrators to
contact us for more information about
this opportunity.”
www.panotek.com
www.matrox.com/graphics
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10
NEWS
Community Partners with Atempo in Turkey
With expanding
international demand
for its outdoor,
distributed and
engineered product
families, Community
has appointed Atempo
for the strong synergy
it offers in key vertical
market sectors.
“We have always
known the great brand
reputation and product
reliability of Community
Volkan Konuralp, Atempo’s Istanbul Regional Director.
products, especially for
TURKEY: Community Professional
outdoor applications
Loudspeakers has announced the
such as sports facilities which is a large
appointment of Atempo as its distributor market in Turkey,” Volkan Konuralp,
for Turkey. Atempo has been established
Atempo’s Istanbul Regional Director,
for over 30 years and is one of the
commented on the occasion. “The
leading distributors of professional audio horn-loaded, IP-rated systems will also
and lighting in Turkey, with a portfolio
help us to develop a strong presence
of brands that includes Shure, DiGiCo,
in the expanding mosque market
Robe and ETC.
in Turkey and we are excited about
Emirates
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our new distribution agreement with
Community.”
According to Jamie Ward, Community’s
EMEA Sales Manager, Atempo provides
a very strong network for Community
across Turkey. With three strategically
located offices, and an experienced
team of 150 staff supporting dealers and
projects of all sizes, they offer a full value
added service across the country.
“Their network of contacts in the
installed sound sector is second to none.
They also have a particularly strong
demand for outdoor applications, an
area where Community leads the way,”
said Ward. “I am pleased to welcome
them as a distribution partner and I’m
sure they will provide installers and
integrators in the region with excellent
brand service and support.”
www.communitypro.com
www.atemp.com.tr
Renkuz-Heinz Appoints Acoustic Arts As
India Distributor
INDIA: Renkus-Heinz has announced the
appointment of Acoustic Arts Pvt. Ltd, as
the company's distributor in India.
Based in New Delhi, Acoustic Arts
was founded in 1999 and is one of the
country's leading AV solutions providers,
providing turnkey solutions, design, and
project management to audio and video
professionals throughout the Indian
subcontinent.
"We are truly pleased to welcome
Acoustic Arts to the Renkus-Heinz
family," commented Karl Brunvoll, Vice
President of International Sales. "They
are a company dedicated to delivering
the finest in technology and unparalleled
support - the same values that RenkusHeinz was founded upon. We look
forward to a long and productive
relationship."
"Renkus-Heinz is one of professional
audio's most legendary brands, and an
undisputed leader in innovation," added
Acoustic Arts Director Sidharth Chhibber.
"Acoustic Arts has long been associated
with the world's leading technology
providers, and our vast network of
professional systems integrators and
resellers expect nothing less,” he said.
“We know they will be as delighted as
we are for this new association. We are
proud to be associated with RenkusHeinz, and excited to be working
together."
www.renkuz-heinz.com
www.acoustic-arts.com
Finally, an AV rack
that looks like your IT rack
Single-platform IT System
Single-platform Crestron Certified System
Introducing Crestron Certified Designs
As an IT expert, you know a good IT system design when you see one.
Your AV rack should be held to the same standard.
Crestron Certified Designs enable you to standardize your AV systems on a single,
scalable IP-based platform throughout your organization. That means they’re easy to
deploy, manage, and maintain on your network. Best of all for you, Crestron Certified
Designs deliver the same uptime you expect of your IT systems, and a consistent user
experience in every room.
Insist on a Crestron Certified Design.
crestron.com/certifieddesign
All brand names, product names, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Certain trademarks, registered trademarks, and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming
the marks and names or their products. Crestron disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Crestron is not responsible for errors in typography or photography. ©2015 Crestron Electronics, Inc.
12
NEWS
Audiobrains Takes Over Powersoft's Japanese Distribution
Another key person in
brokering the deal was
Powersoft Regional Sales
Manager, Arthur Soh.
JAPAN: Powersoft has appointed
pro audio specialists Audiobrains
as the company’s new Japanese
distributor. After initial discussions
with Audiobrains’ sales and marketing
representative, Shin Yamada, the deal
was signed with CEO Fujii Shuzo and
took effect from mid-June.
Audiobrains already has an A-list
distribution portfolio, which
includes Martin Audio, Symetrix and
beyerdynamic, and they also enjoy
dealer status for AVID consoles and d&b
audiotechnik loudspeakers. Therefore
the Powersoft acquisition completes an
important part of the jigsaw.
“Powersoft fits comfortably into several
professional sectors — both for touring
and installation,” says Yamada. “This is a
great opportunity and we are delighted
to be representing the brand.”
“He opened door for us
at Powersoft and talked at length both
about opportunities in the Japanese
market and the worldwide situation,”
confirms the Audiobrains man.
“Audiobrains first expressed interest in
Powersoft around two years ago during
Frankfurt Prolight+Sound,” recalls
Arthur. “After months of evaluation and
further discussion we decided to make
the change of distributor.
“We believe that with their experience
in the pro-audio market, we will be able
to build our brand image and awareness
in the Japanese market even more,
and their strong contacts in the touring
market will give us more exposure in the
Japanese rental market.”
Set up in in 2007 Audiobrains will waste
no time in introducing the new products
to its customer base. “I am excited by
the potential of all products,” states
Yamada, adding that they will embark
on a series of roadshows, seminars and
media exposure.
The company has already received full
training from Powersoft’s Applications
Engineer, Remo Orsoni, while Shin
Yamada himself will conduct domestic
customer training. Meanwhile, a
Technical Support/ Application Engineer
based in Singapore, will be supporting
the APAC region with ongoing training
and the company’s existing Sound
School programme.
Shin Yamada continued, “I strongly
believe that Powersoft will drive our
business forward to the next level, in
terms of offering light weight, high
powered solutions, with high quality
DSP and digital audio streaming.
This will give both the touring and
installation sectors an opportunity
to invest in advanced power and
technology.”
www.powersoft-audio.com/en/
InfoComm Forms New Industry Advisory Groups in Hong Kong
and Singapore
ASIA: InfoComm International® has
announced the creation of new advisory
groups in Hong Kong and Singapore
respectively. With a mission to address
local challenges in AV communities
and provide resources to nurture
member participation and support,
the new groups are in addition to
advisory groups in India and Australia,
broadening InfoComm’s engagement in
the Asia-Pacific region.
Representing diverse sectors of the
industry, members of the Hong Kong
and Singapore advisory groups work
together to explore new ways to better
the University of Hong Kong, Morgan
Stanley, and Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Group are also included.
serve the nuanced needs of InfoComm
members in the countries.
The participants come from
manufacturers such as Biamp, Christie,
Crestron, and Kramer, and Samsung,
consultancies such as Hewshott and PTS
Consulting, and system integrators like
ESCO and Vega Global. Distributors
and in-house technology experts from
“Advisory groups are an important
platform for serving our members on
a local level,” says Andy Tan, CTS®,
InfoComm Regional Director for Asia.
“Giving local industry leaders a voice
not only brings us valuable insights to
continuously improve our offerings as
an industry organization, it also helps
promote volunteer involvement and
advance the industry as a whole.”
www.infocomm.org
DICENTIS Conference System
Inform. Impress. Inspire.
Bosch introduces the DICENTIS Conference System, the revolutionary IP-based platform for the
integrated conference world of tomorrow. Four new conference devices within the DICENTIS product
family are available: DICENTIS discussion Extended, Language, Voting and Basic. With the transformation
of DCN multimedia into the DICENTIS Conference System, this unique family provides a complete line-up
for an enhanced meeting experience in any application – thanks to the intelligent Bosch audio
technologies, innovative design and advanced discussion functionalities. This makes it the perfect choice
for small- and large-sized organizations, multinational corporations, as well as regional and national
governments and international summits. Learn more: www.boschsecurity.com/DICENTIS
14
NEWS
Biamp Announces Midwich as Australian Distributor
APAC for Biamp Systems. “Having
Midwich as our partner for Australia
and New Zealand will enable Biamp to
continue delivering exceptional customer
service in a key region.”
AUSTRALIA: Biamp has announced
Midwich as its distributor in Australia and
New Zealand. Midwich will exclusively
distribute Tesira®, Audia®, Nexia®, and
Vocia®. Midwich will also handle Devio,
Biamp’s UC platform, on a non-exclusive
basis.
“Australia and New Zealand represent
an important region for Biamp Systems.
Midwich share our passion and vision
to provide exceptional AV solutions,
especially with the emergence of
enterprise-level networked media
systems and unified collaboration”
stated Jim Seretis, Biamp Systems’
consultant liaison and business
development manager for Australia and
New Zealand.
“We are very excited at the
opportunities this new partnership
with Midwich brings,” shared Matthew
Packer, sales development director,
For more than 35 years Midwich has
been an industry expert, supplying
solutions to the pro-AV, security, and IT
industry. Headquartered in Sydney, New
South Wales, Midwich provides a variety
of audio-visual solutions to fit their
customers’ unique and varied demands.
www.biamp.com
www.midwich.com.au
Elite Screens Opens New Facility in Hong Kong
HONG KONG: Elite Screens has opened
a new facility in Hong Kong for the
purpose of handling Southeast Asian
sales territories. With the formation of
the Hong Kong office, it allows Elite’s
worldwide network of international
offices to create an overlapping network
of service and expanded product line.
The new office will also enable Elite
Screens to reach out to its customer base
in Asia and conduct technical trainings.
“Since its inception, Elite Screens has
become the leading US CE retail screen
brand.” said Dave Rodgers, Marketing
Manager at Elite’s US corporate office.
“It is great to see the company expand
throughout the Americas, Europe,
China, Japan and Australia but we have
had big plans for Southeast Asia. The
goal of this branch will be to both serve
the Southeast Asian countries with
quality product as well as be a point of
education promoting buyer and seller
knowledge on our dynamic industry.”
Heading the Hong Kong operation is
Simon Tang. With various experiences as
sales and managing directors throughout
the US, Europe and Asia, Simon is
Farnborough Airshow Engages Fans
With Transparent Touchscreen
Pro Display’s transparent touch screen helps Ouno Creative to deliver an
engaging interactive centrepiece in the GKN Aerospace pavilion at this
year’s Farnborough Airshow.
soughted for his abilities to form lasting
business partnerships, identify and
fulfil customer needs, and manage a
productive operation regardless of the
business climate in which he works.
www.elitescreens.com
16
NEWS
Williams Sound Hearing Hotspot Shines in Doha
MIDDLE EAST: Qatar based Darwish
Technology has recently installed the
Williams Sound’s Hearing HotSpot at
Education City Mosque in Doha. This
innovative listening technology was
purchased through Nicolas M Kyvernitis
Electronics Enterprises (NMK), Dubaibased distributor of Williams Sound
and audio, video and communication
equipment in the Middle East.
Considered to be the first major project
for Hearing HotSpot in the region. Qatar
Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) Mosque
was looking for the transmission of
multiple channels of audio signal coming
from a simultaneous interpretation
system. Darwish Technology proposed
a WIFI solution rather than using
conventional RF and IR solution.
Their design team had designed and
configured the system for simultaneous
interpretation of prayers conducted in
Arabic language to multiple languages.
Project management team made sure
that the system is installed, tested and
operated to the requirements of the
client.
“Hearing HotSpot presented the exact
full solution sought for this application.
It’s a simple solution, straight forward
application and compatible with
most of the smart phones and tablets
which made it an adequate solution
for our inquiry”, commented Darwish
Technology team.
The next-generation Hearing HotSpot
technology features everything what is
needed to stream multiple channels of
audio in real time over an enterprise WiFi network. Once a system is installed in
a venue, the software license is activated
by Williams Sound based on the number
of channels at that venue. The users
can bring their own device either IOS
or Android and by installing a free
application of Williams Sound Hearing
Hotspot from App Store or Google
Play, they are able to listen to all the
interpreted channels.
“Hearing HotSpot fulfilled the
requirements of this project as intended.
It was part of a translation system, where
the floor language was transported to
a remote interpretation center, and the
translated signal was pushed back to
the mosque on the same infrastructure.
Hearing HotSpot takes this signal (multi
channels) representing the different
translated languages plus the floor
language and distributes it wirelessly in
the venue. It was an easy implementation
and the result was more than satisfactory.
This project was definitely a positive
experience with the support of NMK
and Williams Sound,” as described by
Darwish Technology.
www.nmkelectronics.com
www.williamssound.com
18
NEWS
MERGERS & AQUISITIONS
Nortek Enters Into Definitive Merger Agreement With
Melrose Industries
INTERNATIONAL: Nortek has signed
an agreement and plan of merger with
Melrose Industries PLC, a UK listed
public company and Nevada Corp., a
newly created wholly owned subsidiary
of Melrose.
Nortek is to be acquired by Melrose for
$86.00 per share in cash – an estimated
total enterprise value of approximately
$2.8 billion.
According to the Merger Agreement,
Nevada Corp. will conduct an all-cash
tender offer for 100% of Nortek’s
common stock. Upon offer completion,
Nevada Corp. will merge with and into
Nortek, resulting in Nortek becoming a
wholly owned subsidiary of Melrose.
“We are very pleased to have reached
the proposed agreement with Melrose
Industries, which represents a significant
premium for our shareholders,” said
Nortek’s President and Chief Executive
Officer Michael J. Clarke. “We believe
this partnership with Melrose will
enhance Nortek’s ability to further
leverage its industry-leading brands and
market positions to continue driving
profitable growth. We believe this
transaction will be a positive for our
employees and customers alike.”
“We have watched and admired Nortek’s
progress and we are convinced we can
steer this fine business to achieve its
full potential,” said Melrose’s Chairman
Christopher Miller. “We see a company
full of hard-working, dedicated people
who are really good at what they do.
We can harness those strengths by
meaningful long term investment and
a vision based on our own experience
in similar and relevant markets down
the years. Melrose has been a highly
successful custodian and builder of US
businesses and we are confident that we
can bring that expertise to build Nortek
for the long term.”
www.melroseplc.net
www.nortek.com
Polycom Ends Mitel Merger Agreement, Enters New Merger
with Siris Capital
INTERNATIONAL: Polycom has
announced that its board of directors
has approved the termination of the
company’s previously announced
merger agreement with Mitel Networks
Corporation. Upon Mitel’s receipt of the
requisite termination fee payable under
the company’s merger agreement with
Mitel, the company will enter into a new
merger agreement with Triangle Private
Holdings I, LLC and Triangle Private
Merger Sub, Inc., entities affiliated with
Siris Capital Group, LLC.
Under the terms of the new merger
agreement between Polycom and Siris,
outstanding shares of common stock of
Polycom will be exchanged for $12.50
per share in cash at the completion of
the merger. The Siris merger is expected
to close in the third quarter of 2016.
On July 7, 2016, Polycom’s board of
directors had received a unilaterally
binding offer from Siris to acquire all
outstanding shares of Polycom common
stock for a price of $12.50 per share
in cash and the Polycom board of
directors determined that Siris’ proposal
constituted a “Company Superior
Proposal” under its merger agreement
with Mitel.
On July 7, 2016, Mitel Networks
Corporation waived its right to
renegotiate its merger agreement with
Polycom after receipt of notice of the
Polycom board’s determination. As a
result, the Polycom board of directors
authorised Polycom to terminate the
Mitel merger agreement, pay the Mitel
termination fee and enter into the Siris
merger agreement. Polycom has since
paid the Mitel termination fee and has
entered into the Siris merger agreement
immediately thereafter.
www.polycom.com
WHITEPAPER: Pro AV & The Internet of Things
This white paper acknowledges the AV industry’s roots in the evolution of the IoT and offers a
primer for AV professionals seeking to capitalize on new IoT opportunities going forward.
NEWS
19
Crestron Opens New Experience Centre in Singapore
Crestron solutions such as RL2 Group
Collaboration, .AV Framework, the
Fusion Enterprise Management platform,
a new meeting management app called
PinPoint as well as an extensive range of
Digital Media 3.0 solutions.
SINGAPORE: Following on from Sydney,
Singapore is now home to the second
Crestron Experience centre in the
APAC region. Over 150 local end-users,
consultants and integration companies
attended the 2-day opening event last
week at Crestron’s new Singapore office
in Kaki Bukit.
After months of preparation since the
Singapore office officially opened in
January 2016, the Crestron Experience
Centre is a fruition of efforts from the
local team. The centre itself consists
of 4 main areas that highlight key
Besides showcasing solutions, the
Experience Centre also encompasses
a training room and fully equipped
conference room where Crestron
solutions are used in day to day settings.
Dave Rashleigh, Executive Director,
South East Asia, commented, “Opening
our new South East Asia headquarters,
Experience centre & training facility
reflects our commitment to the region.
Establishing a direct presence brings us
closer to our clients and ensures we can
provide the high level customer support
that the Crestron brand is known for
globally.”
Crestron's focus on education and
training is also apparent as the new
facility will now allow the Crestron Sales
& Technical team to conduct a full range
of courses locally.
“The past 10 months have been very
productive for us,” said Tony Ang,
General Manager, South East Asia.
“Within this period we have expanded
our team, relocated our office, set up our
warehouse and now it is very heartening
to see the launch of our very own
Experience Centre.”
Interested Integrators and end-users can
register for an appointment where oneon-one tour groups are available upon
request. For more information contact
[email protected]
www.crestron.com
NO MORE
HEAVY
LIFTING
Fusion Dynamic Height Adjust
Mounts increase accessibility.
Available in cart, wall and floor-supported solutions.
Fusion’s rigidity, stability and display adjustments ensure
a superior experience. Smooth, fingertip height adjustment
allows users to quickly and safely raise and lower the
display with almost no effort.
Learn more at milestone.com/FusionDynamic
20
NEWS
EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS
Minhaj Zia to Lead Polycom’s Business and Growth Plans for
South East Asia
First appointed to the company in
October 2013, Zia has been credited for
leading the company’s business in India
with outstanding success including 32%
year on year growth, doubling presence
from 35 cities to over 70, and rolling out
new go-to-market and partner strategies
for increased coverage of the public,
mid-market and SMB sectors. In 2015,
Polycom achieved double digit growth
in the Indian video conferencing market
which Zia widely credits to new market
expansion.
SE ASIA: Polycom has announced that
Minhaj Zia, the current Vice President
for Polycom in India & SAARC, will now
additionally oversee the company’s
operations in South East Asia (SEA).
Zia also led his team to successfully
address opportunities from emerging
markets such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh
and Pakistan by investing in these
countries and extending partnerships.
Effective immediately, Zia will lead
growth and expansion plans as Vice
President for Polycom in India, SAARC
& SEA. Relocating to Singapore, he will
focus on accelerating growth for the
SEA region – which includes Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia,
and the Philippines.
“Under Minhaj’s leadership, India and
SAARC has become one of the top
performing Polycom sales regions in the
world. Not only have the results been
outstanding in terms of revenue growth
and market share, but he has also built
a world class leadership team that has
consistently outperformed,” said Geoff
Thomas, President, Polycom Asia Pacific.
“Where it makes sense, we will leverage
the similarities between India, SAARC
and the SEA region, such as the go-tomarket and channel ecosystem, while
also recognising the unique attributes of
each market.“
“I am truly excited to be leading the
SEA business for Polycom. As with other
regions in Asia Pacific, we look to drive
growth through focused execution
and ensuring that we are resourced
correctly in each market, whether
through right products, price points or
partner relationships,” said Zia. “While
this region is diverse and no country is
alike, I believe that success is achieved
when you are empowered with the right
information on each market to make
decisions that will expedite growth. I
look forward to leading the Polycom
business in India, SAARC and the SEA
region to continued success.”
www.polycom.com.sg
beyerdynamic Promotes Naveen Sridhar to Director
SAARC: beyerdynamic has elevated its
hitherto India Sales Manager Naveen
Sridhar to Director-Sales & Marketing for
SAARC region.
According to a communiqué from
beyerdynamic, the economic /market
communities of SAARC – comprising
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka –
will be henceforth handled by India office.
The proximity of these countries to India
as well as the cooperation in economic
and technical matters, in particular,
the coordination of customs and crossborder trade makes it reasonable to
combine these countries
and put the responsibility to
Naveen Sridhar.
“With this decision,
beyerdynamic laid the
foundation to strengthen their
business within this region,”
said Robert Winterhoff,
beyerdynamic’s Managing
Director- Global Sales &
(L-R) Robert Winterhoff and Manager Naveen Sridhar
Marketing. “Naveen had
been showing fantastic growth figures
He continued, “We, obviously look
since we began India operations; we are
forward to having more dynamic market
happy to have him in an elevated rank
presence with Naveen heading the
that he long deserved.”
initiative from his Bengaluru office.”
www.beyerdynamic.com
NEWS
21
Casio Launches Core & Advance Series Projectors in Bangkok
& Jakarta
distribution partnership with SVOA.
Responsible for the Thailand market,
SVOA will work with Casio to penetrate
the projector market with green and
energy-saving innovations.
(L-R) Koji Shinjo, Managing Director, Casio Marketing (Thailand) Co., Ltd and Thitakorn
Ussayaporn, Chief Operating Officer, SVOA Public Co., Ltd at the Bangkok press conference to
announce their company's new partnership.
SOUTHEAST ASIA: Held on 18th
May 2016 at Siam Centre Point, the
Bangkok press conference by Casio
saw a total of 24 media from the local
daily newspapers, IT magazines & online
media.
The objective of the press conference
was to introduce Casio's environmentalfriendly projector. Lamp-free and Low
Power Consumption, Casio projectors
does not rely on mercury lamp.
During the Bangkok press conference,
Casio also announced its new
A similar press event was also held in
Jakarta. In both press conferences, Casio
took the opportunity to introduce 8
new projector models in the CORE and
Advance Series. Featuring 20,000 hours
lifespan and mercury-free technology,
the Core and Advanced Series are made
in Japan to ensure the highest quality.
At the same time, Casio has also
launched their Asia Facebook page in
June, to engage more actively with its
fan base.
www.casioprojectorsea.com
Aspect ratio conversion
kits available
Additional sections can be
added to increase height.
New Extrusion
New Hinge
New Corner
New Legs
SCREEN
FRAME
LEG
LEG
New Case
www.fastfoldnxt.com
STRONGER, FASTER, SIMPLER
New Surface Formulation
22
NEWS
MDi Conducts Successful Church Sound Seminar
PHILIPPINES: The Christ Cares Global
Ministries (CCGM) venue at Quezon
city saw a turnout of almost 100 for the
Church Sound seminar organised by
Modular Display Inc (MDi) on 19th June.
The seminar topics was presented by
Laz Harris of PreSonus with support from
MDi staff.
Though the focus was in introducing
PreSonus solutions, topics such as mixing
tips, strategies for live event recording
and getting the most from speaker
systems had the full attention of the
attendees.
“It was a wonderful turnout for our
Church Sound seminar, almost a hundred
were present coming from different
churches all over. We are very thankful
for all those who attended the seminar,
especially to Pastor Jun Oliveros, CCGM
band and the whole CCGM for the
support. It was a very successful seminar
and we are glad the we were able to
share knowledge and experience with
all of the attendees and also showcase
new products from PreSonus,” said Alvin
Quisumbing of MDi.
23
NEWS
“At the seminar we used SMAART
software which can quickly test speakers
and tune speakers to flat response.
With tuned speakers, it's much easier
to mix and tweak stage monitors, made
much easier since we used StudioLive
328ai speakers for the wedges. Another
solution was the HP2. For tight church
budget and clean stages, the HP2 does
the trick. A perfect in-ear monitoring
where you can control 2 sources, mix
with your in ear monitors. Attendees
were impressed with what we were able
to achieve.”
For the FOH, the new ULT "Ultra Long
throw" was featured. PreSonus ® ULT
active loudspeakers combine the widest
horizontal dispersion of any loudspeaker
in their class with a focused vertical
dispersion for an ultra-long throw. The
result is even coverage throughout the
space, enabling the audience to hear
clearly wherever they are. Featuring
PreSonus’ proprietary Pivot X110 horn, a
custom 15-inch low-frequency driver, and
plenty of biamped Class D power in a
lightweight design with the performance
characteristics that only wood can
offer, ULT15 loudspeakers deliver firstrate speech intelligibility and natural
music reproduction. This makes them
a great choice for both mobile use and
permanent installations.
Attendees also got a peek of the new AR
analog mixer which will be another game
changer and the new AIR speakers.
Alvin is confident that these new models
will definitely raise the standards and is
already planning to share in more detail
these new solutions.
www.modulardisplaypro.com
prodisplay.com
Product
Catalogu
e
Product Catalogue
2016/17
prodispla
y.com
Prod
uct
Catal
ogue
prod
isplay
.co
2016/17
I N N O V A T I V E
D I S P L A Y
m
2016
/17
T E C H N O L O G I E S
N E W 2 0 1 6 / 1 7 Pro d u c t C at a l o g u e : p ro d i s p l ay. co m /p r i c i n g
i n c l u d i n g Tr a n s p a r e n t L C D & O L E D , I n t e r a c t i v e m i r r o r s , L a r g e f o r m a t t o u c h …
prodisplay.
com |
sales@prod
isplay.co.uk
prodisplay.com | [email protected] | +44 1226 740 007
1
| +44 1226
740 007
1
prodi
splay.
com
| sales@
prodi
splay.
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| +44
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SELF-ADHESIVE FRONT &
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SCREENS UP TO 8M x 3M
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THRU GLASS INTERACTIVE
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INTERACTIVE MONITORS &
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MIRRORVISION TVs &
MIRROR OVERLAYS
P R O D I S P L A Y . C O M
An award-winning British manufacturer
+44 1226 740 007 | [email protected]
24
SOLUTIONS UPDATE
Biamp: Putting the 'V' in “AVB with TesiraLUX
Finally, the “V” in AVB is here. With the addition of TesiraLUX, Tesira now supports real-time
video distribution over the network, with unmatched lip sync capabilities. Since Tesira manages
the entire audio and video signal path, Tesira processing recognizes how long it takes for each
signal to pass over the network, allowing it to accurately synchronize everything.
The TesiraLUX product line includes an AVB video encoder (TesiraLUX IDH-1) and an AVB video
decoder (TesiraLUX OH-1). The encoder features one HDMI® port, one DisplayPortTM port,
and includes two mic/line level analog inputs. The decoder includes one HDMI port and two line
level analog outputs.
Key features:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Accepts video signals up to and including 4K60.
Supports a virtual matrix of at least 512 devices.
Flexible colour space including Rec. 2020.
Supports High Dynamic Range (HDR).
Integrated lip sync management.
Supports 8 channel PCM audio for embedding/
deembedding.
• Automated EDID management between TesiraLUX and the
input source.
• 4 logic connections can be used as inputs or outputs.
• Serial port for the output of command strings.
Availability: Shipping in January 2017.
www.biamp.com
QSC: Q-SYS™ AV-to-USB Bridging Solution
QSC expands its powerful software-based AV/IT solution, Q-SYS™, with PTZ-IP Camera and a
AV-to-USB Bridging peripheral to meet the needs of the corporate AV market for soft codec
camera and audio bridging integration.
Current product line consists of Q-SYS I/O-USB Bridge and two PTZ-IP Conferencing cameras—
the Q-SYS PTZ-12X72 and Q-SYS PTZ-20X60. Built for IT convenience, this solution addresses the
inherent limitations of using USB in a geographically diverse meeting room.
Key features:
• Plug-and-play audio and video feeds to soft codec
applications like Skype for Business™, WebEx™, etc.
• Control within Q-SYS, streamed on IT-friendly Layer-3
protocol, along with the rest of Q-SYS’s audio and control
data.
• Video and audio streams accessed by the end user’s
conferencing application using standard USB 2.0 connection
via Q-SYS USB bridging peripherals.
• Webcam video emulation and AEC speakerphone audio.
• Seamless integration with all current and future shipping
Q-SYS Cores such as the Core 110f and Q-SYS peripherals.
• Existing Q-SYS conference systems can easily add camera
video to their arsenal of AEC, third-party integration, control
and more.
Availability: Now.
www.qsc.com
THEY HEARD,
“BAD NEWS, THE BUSINESS IS IN TROUBLE.”
But you said, “Big news, our business has doubled!” With Devio, the message is always clear thanks
to an 8-element, voice-tracking microphone for crystal clear sound in any conference or huddle space.
Quickly transition ideas from your laptop to a collaborative work session, adding displays, speakers, a web
camera, and microphones with a single USB connection. Communicate better with Devio the conferencing tool that works the way you work.
biamp.com/devio
26
SOLUTIONS UPDATE
JBL by Harman: JBL Intellivox HP-DS170
Announced at InfoComm 2016, the HP-DS170 column array in the popular Intellivox
beam-shaping loudspeaker series is a self-contained, high-power and high-output,
2-way, wide-bandwidth beam-shaping powered column loudspeaker with a high
degree of outdoor capability.
Enclosing ten, high efficiency, 6.5” loudspeakers and two coaxially mounted 1”
compression drivers, each with dedicated amplification, the Intellivox HP-DS170 is
capable of covering a substantial audience area while maintaining an even sound
pressure level throughout.
Applications: Fill or Delay System for Intellivox installations, Sports Facilities, Concert
Halls, Theatres, Touring Applications.
Key features:
• Capable of maintaining an even sound pressure level of
106dB across an audience area of up to 30 meters in length
and has a horizontal dispersion of 100° .
• Slim and unobtrusive with an array length of only 1.7 meters.
• Switched mode power supply and surveillance features to
ensure years of reliable operation.
• IP55 rated.
• Built in DSP and amplification.
• DDS Beam Shaping: Users can have coverage
tailor-made to their space, focusing the sound
exactly where it is needed.
• 6.5" Drivers.
• RS-485 serial control.
Availability: July 2016.
http://asia.jblpro.com
Crestron: Breaks New Ground With Avia DSP-128
The Crestron® Avia™ DSP-128 family of Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) leverages the
highest quality components and the expertise of veteran audio industry engineers to deliver a
revolutionary audio processing platform that’s actually easy to integrate and configure.
Introduced at InfoComm 2016, the Avia family has all the features and performance top sound
system designers demand — complemented with an intuitive graphical workspace conceived to
inspire exceptional results quickly.
Applications: Conference rooms, lecture halls, sports and entertainment venues, courtrooms,
and other spaces.
Key features:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hybrid channel strip architecture.
Customizable input and output channel strips.
Eight internal aux buses with channel strips.
Full set of selectable channel strip objects.
Fully-adjustable matrix mixing.
Seamless export of Smart Graphics™ touch screen UI files.
Built-in Real-Time Analyzer: Tools include a spectrum
analyzer, virtual mixer, EQ editor, and Crestron speaker
profile library to ensure quick acoustic setup.
• Dante Audio Networking: I/O expansion amongst Avia DSPs,
amplifiers, and third-party vendors is easy using integrated
Dante controls.
• Integrate natively with DigitalMedia™, touch screens,
Crestron Fusion® Cloud, and unified collaboration
technology as part of a comprehensive Crestron solution.
• DSP-1282 and DSP-1283: USB Audio Interface, Acoustic
Echo Cancellation and SIP & POTS Phone Interface.
Availability: Now.
www.crestron.com
SOLUTIONS UPDATE
27
RGB Spectrum: Distribute AV over IP with Zio
RGB Spectrum's new Zio technology
offers video and audio distribution
over an IP network, replacing
traditional dedicated switchers. Zio
endpoints attach to a 1Gig Ethernet
switch, with encoders accepting
computer and video signals at
resolutions up to 4K, and decoders
for feeding displays. The Zio system
offers seamless switching and
supports both dedicated and/or
shared networks.
Debuted at InfoComm 2016, the
Zio family includes: S2000 Series
Encoder; D2000 Series Decoder;
D2000 Series Multiviewer and
D3000 Series Multiviewers.
Key features:
• Scalability: As system requirements grow, additional
endpoints can be easily added.
• Ability to produce multiple independent streams of
differing compression. parameters to allow signal to be
optimized to meet the stringent bandwidth, frame delay
and jitter challenges of WAN links.
• Zio endpoints offers gateway to traditional AV distribution
system.
• Video Wall Capability when integrated with MediaWall
processor.
• Able to accommodate externally generated video streams
from third party H.264/H.265 UP cameras and encoders.
• Stream content to smart phones, IPTVs or other devices.
• Audio Distribution: Decoders provide both HDMI
embedded audio and analog output.
• Grouping: Zio endpoints can be organized into groups for
admin purposes.
• Third Party Control: API for control by third party available.
KXWELL Present New Robotic Head
with 20Kg Payload and VR Support*
KT-PR50 (with VR) / KT-PR51
Payload : 20KG / 44 Lbs
Availability: Now.
www.rgb.com
BEIJING INTERNATIONAL
RADIO, TV & FIRM
EQUIPMENT EXIHIBTION
24 - 27 AUGUST 2016
KXWELL INTERNATIONAL
WWW.KXWELL.COM
VISIT US @
BOOTH :
[email protected]
48 HILLVIEW TERRACE , #07-08 HILLVIEW BUILDING SINGAPORE 669269
*Only Selected Model
8A61
28
SOLUTIONS UPDATE
beyerdynamic: Quinta TB Wireless Boundary Microphone
beyerdynamic is expanding its Quinta wireless conference system portfolio.
Flexibility, efficacy and cost optimisation are the primary factors when deciding to purchase
video conference systems or microphones for meeting rooms. From the very beginning,
the Quinta TB wireless boundary microphones from the beyerdynamic Quinta product line
optimise the often undervalued role of voice transmission during video conferences.
Applications: Meeting rooms and video conferences.
Key features:
• Different operating modes can be set
using the system software.
• In microphone mode, the Quinta CU can
act as a multi-channel receiver.
• Maximum of four Quinta TBs (depending on the size of
the room and the number of participants) can be operated
simultaneously.
• Also in microphone mode, software can be used to connect
up to 9 central control units.
• In conference mode the Quinta TB acts as a delegate
microphone unit and can be used for any traditional
conference application.
• Quinta Triple Band technology ensures uninterrupted
transmission.
• 128 bit encryption and a 24-bit PIN code guarantee
protection against eavesdropping.
• Speedy recharging time and a long operating time of at least
14 hours.
www.beyerdynamic.com
ATEN: Enhanced Control System Customizability
ATEN has announced that its control system will have two new features: serial expansion
boxes and Windows and Android support. The new expansion boxes will allow customers to
match the exact requirements of any installation.
Released last year, the ATEN Control System has been well received by end customers and
system integrators alike due to its simple and intuitive setup, deployment, and control. The
ATEN Control System empowers individuals without a technical background to manage and
control any device in a room.
Key features:
• Expansion boxes provide extra port connections that can
be used to meet the needs of larger and more complex
environments.
• Does not require the purchase of exclusive user panels.
• Control system can be managed through an intuitive appbased user interface on an iOS, Windows or Android device.
• ATEN now also provides a driver download page so that
users can seamlessly integrate a number of devices from
various brands within their installation.
• This includes products from ATEN’s major partners BenQ,
BXB, Lumens and Optoma.
Availability: ATEN will first release a 4-Port Serial Expansion
Box, the VK224, and follow this with an 8-Channel Relay and
6-Port IR/Serial Expansion Box by the end of year.
www.aten.com
SOLUTIONS UPDATE
29
Opticis: New 4K HDMI IP Video Wall Controller
The new IPVDS-500-ED is a 4K HDMI IP Video Wall Control solution for playing multisources of Audio/Video such as PC, media player, Blu-ray and etc, on the video wall display
simultaneously. It enables the processing of high quality video into multiple videos and play it
on video wall displays and other displays.
PC program can be used for host allocation and preview with drag and drop operation with
simple mouse use. Users can easily merge, split, overlay and clear for host allocation and
assure with preview scene on the ‘Layout Manager’ before applying it to real display monitors.
Key features:
• TCP/IP based IP network: 100/1000 Base-T Ethernet with
CAT5e or CAT6 cables.
• Up to 4K resolution (3840×2160 at 30Hz) or 1080p at 60Hz.
• Up to 8×8(up to 64 displays) Video Wall with multi-sources.
• Provides Analog/HDMI audio input and output.
• Provides PC program for users:
1. Control PC apps for Video Wall and individual displays.
2. Drag and drop operation of mouse for house allocation
and preview.
3. Allocation, merge, split, overlay, and etc on Layout
Manager.
4. Provides preview scene before to apply it to real
monitors.
5. Provides 99 presets for user defined layout (save and
loading).
6. Provides preset scheduling function with weekly mode
and
sequential mode (based on dwell time).
7. Bezel Compensation in 0.1mm units.
• M:N virtual matrix supported: multicasting up to 200
clients.
• Fast switching time / low video latency.
• Provides EDID read and write function.
• Transmits HDMI/DVI, USB, RS-232, audio, DIO signals via IP
network.
• Provides 1U rack optionally (model: OPSCR-1U).
• Provides mounting bracket optionally (model: OPSCB):
VESA 75,100 standard.
QUINTA TB
WIRELESS BOUNDARY
MICROPHONE
–
MADE IN GERMANY
Availability: Now.
www.opticis.com
Visit us:
InfoComm India,
Bombay Exhibition
Centre, Mumbai
Booth G1
www.beyerdynamic.com/quinta
beyerdynamic India Pvt. Ltd. . No. 1, 10th Main, 14th Cross Malleswaram
Bangalore 560 003 . [email protected]
30
SPECIAL FEATURE
Software Influence In AV:
The Web – A Smart Building Platform
T
he audio visual industry has been automating meeting
rooms, lecture theatres and classrooms for decades. But
there has never been a greater opportunity for control
and automation than right now. Clients expect every device to
be network enabled and the user experience to be seamless.
The consumer world and the expectations of the Internet of
Things (IoT) has created the desire and the opportunity to move
beyond the traditional control system.
It has never been easier to achieve a scalable smart building
experience, with open-source Machine Learning platforms,
web-based control systems, an extensive IoT development
community and powerful data and analytic tools. The biggest
challenge is that the technology has surpassed the typical audio
visual system design and many consultants and integrators are
not taking advantage of these new opportunities.
by Jonathan McFarlane, CEO, ACA Projects
When we started ACA Projects we were surprised that there
was such a disconnect in what the client wanted and what
the AV industry provided. We set out to disrupt an industry
that was focused on hardware, pushed by manufacturers. Our
focus was to provide platforms that can grow, adapt, scale and
fundamentally meet the changing needs of the client.
We started with the web as a platform and a philosophy that
every component must be IT standard. We quickly discovered
that the web for control and automation was a natural fit.
Logic, device drivers, user interfaces and communication
management can all sit on standard servers. This can be on the
client’s virtual machine, on a cloud service or as a hybrid-cloud,
each organisation has their own preference. By default, the
web-based backend creates an extremely scalable solution and
allows you to start thinking of control in a different way.
Control is no longer isolated to a room and you can extend the
control interfaces to a general building experience. By doing
so you provide a uniform user experience across your building
or even the entire organisation as you scale the solution to
multiple buildings. The natural scalability of the web allows
for huge costs savings compared to hardware-based control.
The larger the rollout, the greater the investment return.
Furthermore, a large rollout allows you to collect and centralise
your room and building data.
We encourage our partners and clients to think about control
in the same way their marketing team would think about a
web-based campaign. The building experience starts with
discovery, moves into engagement, requires some sort of
call-to-action and then we can monitor to improve the
experience. These are the fundamentals of most web-site
design and because we use the web as a platform we can
follow the same process in the same way.
At ACA, this has resulted in building custom mobile web
interfaces that includes automatic launching via Eddystone
bluetooth beacons as the discovery process, way-finding as
the engagement, control of the room once you get there
as the call-to-action and measuring user behaviour with
Google Analytics to make any improvements. We still use
traditional mounted tablets in key locations but with ongoing
measurement we can see who, when and how people are
connecting to make informed decisions on where and when to
use a more traditional approach.
SPECIAL FEATURE
The screenshot below shows an Education project where 67%
of all users are accessing the control interface with their mobile
device and only 13% via a mounted tablet.
31
can leverage these standard features to create powerful user
experiences, rather than the traditional AV programmer that is
limited to proprietary touch panel design software.
Below, a custom room booking interface that integrates into
exchange via APIs and the web-based control system to
reference what equipment is in the room. This allows the client
to search by requirements and if a device is offline the room
can be reserved for maintenance automatically.
The next part of a smart building is linking other internal
software services to provide a uniform user experience.
With a web-based platform this is easy through Application
Programming Interfaces (APIs) to pass data and requests
between systems. Furthermore, many organisations use secure
single sign-on across all of their web applications and this can
be applied to any building or control interface. This improves
both the user experiences and security. Any web developer
The final part of a smart building solution is collecting data.
The more rooms and buildings you add to your network the
4K HDMI 2.0 + USB 2.0 + RS232 Extender;
HDCX-100
Transmits HDMI 2.0, USB 2.0, RS-232 up to 100m(328feet) over
one(1) CAT5e or CAT6 cable
Supports 4K UHD(3840x2160) at 60Hz(YCbCr 4:2:0)
Supports HDCP 1.4/2.2 standards
Provides compact design and bracket allows easy installation
even in small space
Real 4K over Fiber Solution
Stretch & Control digital video audio standards
º DVI / HDMI / DisplayPort / SDI Fiber Optic Extender
º KVM Extender (Fiber Optic & IP base)
º Multi Format Modular Matrix
º Various Video Format Converters
º Wireless Extender
Certifies FCC and CE standards
4K HDMI IP Video Wall Controller;
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IPVDS-500-ED
Supports 100/1000 base-T TCP/IP network with CAT5e or CAT6 cables
Transmits up to 4K resolution (3840x2160) at 30Hz or 1080p at 60Hz
with Analog/HDMI audio
Supports fast switching / low video latency
Provides up to 8x8(64 monitors) Video Wall with multi-cast sources
multicasting up to 200 clients
Provides control PC Apps for Video Wall and individual displays
: preview, drag & drop layout with mouse,
bezel correction in 0.1mm unit and preset schedule
GG
OPTICIS HQ 16Fl., Kins Tower Jeongja 331, 8 Sungnam-daero, Bundang-gu, Sungnam-si, Gyunggi-do, 13558 South KoreaGGG
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32
SPECIAL FEATURE
better the data. Potentially, a builder could provide access to
a web-based control platform across their entire portfolio and
collect data on the building’s usage centrally. They can use this
data to continuously improve the building experience for their
customers and even influence the design of new properties.
Heat maps, users flows mapping and automated reporting
can be setup with standard analytics packages such as Google
Analytics.
Microsoft Find Me is also used to track people in hot-desks so
you can search for a colleague and find where they are sitting
today.
Below, the user floor of a system at the University of Sydney
with one of the most common user activities highlighted.
The user interface also includes the ability to request catering
and order coffee and drinks directly from the interface. The
kitchen display’s a web dash-board that provides a list of
orders as well as the floors room booking details so catering
staff can use it to see all the open orders as well as when the
room is available for cleaning.
The future of smart buildings is all about machine learning.
If there is one thing machine learning is good at is finding
patterns. It does not make sense to manually create triggers
or depend on user interactions for predictable tasks. If you
collect good data, pass it on to a machine learning platform
and have that automatically trigger control events - you could
create a building that is proactive not just reactive to the user.
We are working on our first machine learning building project
directly with a banking client (watch this space). It will be more
of a design challenge than a technical one- coming up with the
right concepts and collecting the right data to pass onto the
open source platforms.
It is often corporate clients that benefit from a web-based
solution as it scales to all of their offices, integrates into their
IT environment and is secure enough to keep the CIO happy.
A recent example of our web-based control platform in
action is at Rabobank Sydney. This new office fitout included
ACAEngine providing BYOD control to every space with key
spaces such as boardrooms
with mounted touch panels.
Ultimately, this project and many ACA projects follows the
concept that if you know Who someone is and Where they are
you can provide unique user experiences. The who is provided
with single sign-on authentication and the where comes from
geo-location integration. At the same time, you can have a
traditional control experience in key locations and extend
beyond the room control with new room researching, catering
and people tracking abilities.
The AV landscape has changed dramatically in the last few
years and it is not slowing down. In other areas of their
organisation the client embraces IoT, consolidates global
services and embraces the cloud- not just for SaaS but as
their hosted data-centre. To this client localised hardware in
the room or comms room does not make sense and there
is a strong requirement for IT standard solutions. With the
expectation that the backend is IT standard, the client puts all
focus on the user experience that needs to move beyond the
touch panel. I encourage you to walk into your next design
meeting thinking ‘how do I design the best solution for the life
of this building’ not ‘what products do I need to sell for this
project’.
http://acaprojects.com
ACAEngine integrates into
Microsoft Exchange for room
booking and Microsoft Find
Me room searching. This is a
simple web-app that allows
users to search and book
a space. Then the call-toaction when they get to their
room is the control interface.
About The Author
Jonathan McFarlane is the co-founder of ACA Projects, a
company that provides web-standard control and media
platforms to enable smart buildings. Based in Hong Kong and
with offices in Sydney, the ACA team are providing some of
the worlds largest smart building deployments across Asia.
Notable projects include the Sydney Opera House, Rabobank
and most recently PwC Australia.
34
COUNTRY ANALYSIS
By Ram Bhavanashi
Sri Lanka: Living With Prospect And Plight
Audio-Visual industry has much to happen in the island nation
Sri Lanka – the small but bountiful and beautiful island in South Asia – has been a focal point for many for long. From conquerors
to colonialists, from royal envoys to religious preachers, from ethnic repulsions observers to economic analysts, and, of late,
market economy harbingers to ICT enthusiasts! Even as the country continues to grapple with oddities, there has been a fair
amount of hope for a prospering time, and sync with regional, if not global market.
For audio-visual and systems integration industry, while it’s been extremely tough going for SI Asia eliciting response from the
small but emerging AV industry – as part of our regular Country Analysis – there is a light visible at some distance. A snapshot:
F
or a small country that struggled with a high degree
of civil war for 30 long years, followed by periods of
uncertainties, it might not sound fair to expect great
turnaround in quick span of time- let alone wonders! However,
some steely resolve at the top echelons of governance,
progressive looking citizenry, and more encouragingly, positive,
and promising outlook taken by regional powers and market
players offers a great prospect.
“That’s exactly what it is…or what we can take to be fair,”
comes the assumption from Arijith Ranaweera. A freelancing
sound engineer who is also a music enthusiast with some good
exposure to entertainment and audio visual industry in the
region, Ranaweera says the kind of turmoils that the country
had been through, it isn’t easy to make it that quick.
“We had enough of it, we all know; more, the government;
which is why we are seeking forward,” Ranaweera wants us
reckon. “It will take some time, but surely.”
Hansi Chaturasinha and Amanthi d’Mel, Arijith’s young club
acquaintances, working with a top hotel in Colombo, exude
a bit more enthusiastic. Apparently judging from the audiovisual set-up in the hotel they work, the women in late-20s
feel it’s a ‘new Sri Lanka’ now. “We have, banquet halls, clubs
and conference rooms with audio-visual set-ups; and they are
maintained fine,” Amanthi qualifies. “Most hotels in Colombo
have good AV set-ups; and they are getting better and
bigger.”
COUNTRY ANALYSIS
35
Interestingly, Amanthi and her friend know much about
Chennai and Bengaluru hotels, but not much about other parts
of Sri Lanka. “We are told things are fast changing,” they say.
According to Ronil Samaraweera, who works for a leading
distribution firm, feels that there has been a fair amount of
enthusiasm of late- across all major segments. “There have
been some big constructions, both in government and private
sector, and most of them are seen to implement some or other
kind of AV,” he says. “People in professional segment appear
to be growing up to modern business requirements.”
Leaders Take Positive Note On Growth
Their assumption finds, perhaps, the strongest endorsement it
could get- from Swedish Trading Audio Visual Pvt Ltd (STAV),
Sri Lanka’s top most AV industry player. Dulith Senanayake,
Managing Director of STAV, vouches for the industry’s
dynamism: “The industry is very dynamic; most customers are
today requesting for latest technology. They want their AV
install on par with the international benchmark, if not better.”
According to him, the Lankan customers are well informed and
very IT savvy, and therefore demand only the best. They are
willing to invest in quality solutions and services. The legacy
systems are being done away with, giving way in to modern,
and high-end systems. One reason for this enthusiasm, could
be increasing funding opportunities with convincing finance
models coming into access.
“The one challenge here is with the old timers,” comments
Dulith. “The other big challenge, of course, is the dearth of
skilled and certified professionals; it is extremely difficult to get
locally, and we always have to rely on India.”
For one, STAV enjoys the luxury of some of the country’s
most prestigious AV builds to its credit. Sri Lanka Parliament
Chamber, multiple numbers of Parliament Committee
Rooms; Institute of Policy Studies auditorium; Ministry of
Finance’s VC room; and UNDP office; have been some of its
accomplishments.
The year ahead holds good prospects for the industry, feels Dulith.
“It’s a growing market,” he asserts, “so, it is bound to grow.”
More or less endorsing the view is yet another leader of Lankan
AV industry, Dynamic AV Technologies. “The industry will
surely go up in the months to come, specially, with the way
investments have been taking place in hospitality and leisure
industry,” says Mohan Abeysinghe, Managing Director of
Dynamic AV Technologies.
According to him, there have been quite a few number of
projects coming up in recent times, and all that should bode well
for the industry. The company has had the unique experience
of executing some of the largest AV projects in the country- Sri
Lankan Parliament, the BMICH, and Western Provincial Council
to mention a few. Riding on these successes, the company has
quickly emerged to be among the leading players in a short
span of seven years since its inception in 2009.
The growth prospects for the coming year or near future
gain further ground with yet another positive outlook coming
from Cyber Illusions Pvt Ltd’s Managing Director Lalindra
Amarasekara who vouched for a strong growth factor taking
shape right now, and accrue the benefits in the coming
months.
Overall, there is a strong sentiment for a positive growth
of the industry, albeit a discordant note. Dammika Caldera,
Managing Director of The Light House Audio Visual feels that
the industry is faced with a very challenging time due to the
recent big change in the government. “It’s new and coalition
government out there, and it has had very little time to devise
its development strategies,” he opined. “It needs some more
time to formulate and put in place its plans, and until then, it’s
going to be tough.”
That the nature of the current government being coalition
is taken as a weak link by Mohan Abeysinghe too, but the
Dynamic AV chief gives a positive mark that the government
has been initiating some strong measures to boost the industry
fortunes in general, and that should auger well for AV. That
there are some new and big projects in the pipeline, and a
generic betterment in willingness among user communities
to invest in quality solutions and services, all that should
contribute to the good of industry in the short term.
Growth To Be Visual, Over IP!
Taken the sentiment on growth prospect, but in which domain
and segment? “Digital Signage” comes the assertion from
the Dynamic AV head honcho whose prospective domain
is hospitality. Indeed, the hospitality and leisure segments
are voted by most to be the strongest growth areas. Cyber
Illusions chief, while vouching for hospitality segment, also
feels Corporate and Rental & Staging to be most prospective.
Interestingly, STAV chief Dulith and Cyber Illusions boss have
common voice in favour of collaboration and conferencing
solutions. Dulith adds the domain of UC too as the domain
with good promise of growth. More, he feels the industry is
being driven by IP technologies and has a fair stake on the
format.
36
COUNTRY ANALYSIS
“There are quite a few large projects pending from
Government side itself,” observes Ronil. “If the corporate
segment too catches up, then the domain that will receive
boosters will be conferencing and collaboration.”
Challenges, Few But Crucial
Like in most cases elsewhere, the Lankan AV industry is almost
unanimously in agreement on one challenge as the greatestdearth of certified human talent.
While they all agree about the growing awareness among
prospective buyers about the importance of AV, the industry
suffers from extremely low quotient of skilled and certified
professionals. There hasn’t been any great booster happening
in recent times in this regard.
While the new government has introduced some courses in
academia to help develop certified talent pool for the ICT
industry in general, it’s been a tough going- for a simple reason
that technological advancements on the global front has been
proving rather faster, and catching up its pace skills training
wise hasn’t proven good.
For Cyber Illusions’ chief, the low AV awareness among
customers has been the big challenge. That most customers do
not understand what AV companies do, selling the concept, let
alone the product, is often very very difficult, and that proves a
big deterrent for the industry’s growth.
Most industry pundits opine that the country is being
administered by a coalition government, the stability factor
is missing, and that tends to dilute the prospects. Either the
government should be stable to hope for a big, good change,
or the government should implement measures that strongly
impose the good changes, and ensure that they stay for long.
“Until either of this happens, there tends to be this feel of
uncertainty,” observers say.
According to STAV chief Dulith Senanayake, the industry as of
now is posting revenues of about 1.5 million USD per month
on an average, which means 18 million USD per annum. Given
the situations that the island nation had been through over the
years, this figure may look okay or promising. One only hopes
it gets better with time.
38
PROFILE
Novastar Talks LED Commitment
Leading LED Display Industry Into The Future Through Innovation
Dr Aaron He, Ph.D, Vice President, Novastar
N
ovastar can be considered a young company having
established itself only in 2008. Though young, the
company has made rapid progress and has become a
leading LED display solution provider.
Novastar's HQ and manufacturing plant are both located in
Xi’an, China, which is a beautiful historic city with a number of
universities located around it. There is a branch office located
in Shenzhen which mainly focuses on providing service to
LED manufacturers. In addition Novastar has 30 branches
worldwide, serving more than 10,000 customers.
The company has a team of over 500 young dedicated
professionals who are lead by 5 personnel with Ph.Ds and
already has 220 invention patents to its name.
Novastar's multiple product lines include:
• Mars system, also called Synchronous LED control system
• Pluto system , also called Asynchronous LED control system
• NovaCLB, pixel level colour/brightness calibration system
• NovaCloud/ NovaiCare, remote content publishing and
display management/monitoring system based on cloud
technology.
These products can be combined with each other, forming a
complete ecosystem.
“With continuous strengthening of innovative technology,
outstanding customization capacity, excellent service capacity
and improving delivery ability, we are doing our best to
meet every customer’s needs anywhere in the world. We are
committed to leading the LED display industry into the future
through innovation and technology”, says the youthful Dr
Aaron He, Ph.D, Vice President, Novastar.
Some may be surprised to learn that Novastar Calibration
System is the most used calibration system in the world. It
dominates 95% market share, where more than 100 LED
display manufacturers in China improve their screen uniformity
by running NovaCLB-cabinets in their production lines. And
NovaCLB-screen for on-site calibration are widely used by
more than 700 companies to obtain better imaging quality to
their customers.
With this in mind, SI Asia interviewed Dr Aaron about the
Novastar Calibration System.
PROFILE
SI Asia: So what are the unique advantages
of Nova's calibration systems that makes it
popular?
Aaron: There are a number of factors:
1) High precision in both brightness and colour. NovaCLB can
make each pixel on a LED screen have a brightness difference
of less than 1% and colour difference of less than 0.003, which
is in line with the human eye vision sensitive level.
2) Easy to use. NovaCLB is very ease to use. All the operator
needs to do is just click “start” button after the camera has
been setup and focused on the LED display properly. The
software will automatically run and finish its calibration.
3) Low cost and portable. Whole system consists of NovaCLB
Software installed on a laptop computer and a SLR camera
(Canon70D) on a tripod - all of which are easy to carry and are
reasonably priced.
4) Highly efficient. This technology greatly increases the area
which can be calibrated by the camera at one time. The system
is able to calibrate a full HD display (1920*1080) in 20 minutes.
5) High adaptability. No matter small or big screens, regular or
irregular shape, flat or curved surface, all can be calibrated by
NovaCLB. Even when there is unmovable obstacles in between
the camera and display, such as power lines or lamp post,
NovaCLB is still able to finish the job.
39
for their new products due to highly stable, highly flexible, very
friendly user interface.
SI Asia: Wat is your view about the LED
display market - will it continue to grow
and in which segments and countries? What
would be the challenges if any?
Aaron: The LED display market will keep growing. With LED
screen price going lower and lower, it’s affordable for more
and more occasions. For outdoor LEDs market, small size
fixed installation screen is a growth point. Reasonable in price
and flexible in application, they are good for advertising and
information publishing. Residence community, convenient
store, gas stations, traffic guidance, commercial blocks etc. all
have great potential for LEDs. For Indoor market, small pitch
LED display is taking the place of projector and LCD video wall
system.
Growth is a global trend for LED display, but in different
countries, there are different growth points. For example, in
South-east Asia, demand of LED screen for outdoor ads is
rising, In India, due to the urban construction and economic
development, outdoor fixed-install will start. In markets such
as China, South Korea, indoor screen growth will be more
obvious. Europe and America are huge markets - outdoor small
ads screen, billboard, arena application, indoor fixed-install and
rental applications are all increasing rapidly.
To improve LED display image quality is the eternal challenge
for this industry. At the same time, as LED displays are used
more and more widely, there are even higher requirements
for easy operating and easy maintenance. Technology
development will focus on these aspects also.
SI Asia: What is the future of LED display
technology?
Aaron: In the future, technologies such as image processing,
grey control, calibration will be used for even better image
quality of LED display. Smart, centralized control will be
the basic feature of LED displays. Behind this, there are
technologies like cross platform, interactive application, status
diagnostic, auto control etc. Being environment friendly and
energy saving will also be important.
www.novastar.tech
SI Asia: Are the calibration systems
independent of the brand of the LED
displays that need calibration or it can only
be used with Nova Star LED displays?
Aaron: The Novastar Calibration system can only be used
with LED displays which use Novastar control system. But
nowadays, Novastar LED control system have more than 55%
market share world wide. It is a trend that more and more LED
manufacturers and customers are choosing Novastar system
Novastar's
Manufacturing Plant
40
INTERVIEW
An Invincyble Tech Case To The Fore
(left) Hemanth K Naidu,
and (right) Saugato
Siddhanta
instead of simply pushing boxes. Though we
seeded this in 2014 itself, like any other StartUp,
it took us some time, before we made our mark
on the market. Establishing relationships with the
market forces was key to getting ahead in the
space, and we were fortunate to be able to do
it faster. Our standing in the industry before we
founded Invincy did help us make what we are
today.
On the typical name Invincy; does it
mean solutions are 'invincible'…
Audio-Visual solutions space is as entertaining and thrilling
as it is challenging, and sometimes chilling. For, the fiercely
competitive domain that it is where technology is said to
change by the time it arrives at the user pace, wanting to
make a business case with a sustainable technology can be as
challenging. However though, a team of young enthusiasts with
some credible industry standing came together to present the
industry with what they call Invincy Solutions- boastfully seeking
to make their solutions invincible, and thereby sustain for long.
I
f technology and business go hand in hand, innovation
and entrepreneurial zeal have to go together too. It’s been
more or less such a case with Saugatho Siddhanta and
Hemanth K Naidu. Formerly AMX India executives, they both
apparently imbibed the good aspects of AMX control system/
touch panel technology traits, and having come out during the
AMX’s transition time, explored the opportunities of creating a
business case out of their then standing in the industry.
With the opportunities looking bright, they joined hands with
their friend Hema Chandra, and founded Invincy Solutions
in Bengaluru, with a focus on developing new genre of GUI
(graphical user interface) and multimedia solutions, besides
trading in some key brands.
At Invincy we strongly believe in team work. Being
best at our respective jobs, we came together
to form a formidable team where we not only
complement each other but form an exceptional team of wit
and grit. We derive our strength from our team which makes us
invincible, hence the name Invincy.
On what are Invincy's solutions… of what
type, and for what domains…
Invincy works as a Value Added Distributor where we provide
a wide selection of industry leading AV/IT products. We also
provide high level of AV programming, multimedia and content
creation services. With our sound knowledge and experience
in AV and multimedia domains, we have created ‘first of its
kind 3D control systems User Interface. That has quickly gained
the industry appreciation. We design the control system User
Interface with actual room image/interiors and its AV devices,
making it incredibly easy and user-friendly Interface.
On How does the UI solution work- what
technology platform, HW & SW etc…
We have a fleet of certified AV programmers from all the
leading control and switching manufacturers such as AMX,
Crestron and Extron. Our Creative and Multimedia Services
Roughly a year down the line, the StartUp has developed what
it calls ‘first-of-its-kind’ 3D control system. Having implemented
in a few projects in India and Middle East, Invincy now feels it
has a sustainable model solution that can take its tech business
cause forward.
Saugato, Director at Invincy, and Hemanth, Head-Technical
Services and Pre-sales, recently chatted with SI Asia's Ram
Bhavanashi about Invincy:
On the birth of Invincy Solutions…
We formed a team of like-minded and experienced individuals
from AV and IT Industry; realized the potential of a VAD (Value
added Distributor) in India-be a true value added distributor,
The customized GUI developed for Kstart. Done with floaral patterns in
attractive colours- GUI now defies convention and turns transcendental
INTERVIEW
41
team creates revolutionary and affordable videos, digital
signage content, holographic content, website design and
development using multiple platforms like HTML, CSS, PHP,
Asp.Net, Ajax etc.
That apart, we are authorized distributors in India and SAARC
region for some of world’s leading AV brands such as BTech
Professional AV mounts, BrightSign digital signage solutions,
Wyrestorm AV and network based switching solutions, and
Earthworks, Hi-Definition microphones. So, we try to weave
our custom solutions with the brands and products wherever
feasible and required by the client.
On value-adds to the integrator; to the
facility manager/user, and to the space
owner…
Value-add to SIs- trying to evolve as one of India’s most sought
after distributor for system integration firms. Try to evolve as a
profitable vendor partner for SI industry, by providing a wide
basket of products to complete a solution. On the other hand,
by extending benefits from our complete technical support in
terms of AV design, programming, IT/multimedia and content
creation services.
Value-add to facility managers- alongside our systems
integration partners we help facility managers/users to simplify
centralized management and control of the AV devices across
large campuses/office spaces.
On why Invincy Solutions are unique… What
USPs…
Invincy Solutions is an extraordinary combination of AV
product distribution and services. Our products and services
complement each other and our Integration Partners benefits
immensely from our complete solution packages. The valueadds we bring, the custom products/solutions we develop all
count and contribute.
On what is the single most unique aspect
that should drive its solution…
Our vast technical knowledge and experience in AV /IT related
products and solutions is the single driving force. Most System
Integration Partners would like to engage with a company
who could provide comprehensive technical knowledge and
real-time support in the fields of AV design, commissioning,
programming and multimedia services.
Whether it is sheer technology experience…
With our past experience of working for large audio visual
system gear manufacturers, AVSI’s and IT companies, we come
with real-time, hands on experience in handling complex AV
projects, designs. Our valuable insight catapults us to a unique
position where our Integration Partners feel confident to
partner with us on project/solutions.
On how they differentiate Invincy from
competition…
Although there are similar demonstrative models in the
market, Invincy Solution is the only company which provides
large number of unique services such as AV programming,
AV product distribution, IT and Multimedia services under
one roof. That apart, we are developers of tools too, like
we mentioned earlier, the first of its kind 3D Control System
solution. Our customization capability for this particular 3D
Control System UI has already proven successful, with quite
a few projects in India and outside implementing it. We have
recently demonstrated the solution in Mumbai exhibition, and
we were able to WOW people. Advantages like these will
move us ahead, and help clear competition.
On the road ahead…how are they mapping
it…
The future is incredibly interesting. With the convergence of
AV and IT gaining larger grounds by the day, we are seeing
fascinating product and solutions which is simplifying complex
AV solutions tremendously. We continuously keep ourselves
abreast with new technology and solutions to meet the
requirements of discerning customers.
www.invincy.com
42
INTERVIEW
‘Integrated’ Journey to Excellence, Audio-Visually
Integrated Audio Visual (IAV) – leading Indian audio-visual
systems integration enterprise – has been going places, to
say the simplest way. From a start-up of just three to an SME
of international stature, it’s been an ‘integrated’ journey for
the Bengaluru-headquartered audio-visual solutions major.
Steering it with nerve and verve is Kaushik Mukhopadhyay, the
AVSI’s MD & CEO.
A CTS professional of repute, Kaushik’s leadership is reflected
in the firm’s winning as many as 27 awards in 12 years, besides
many other laurels. SI Asia talks to Kaushik on what made it so,
and what it is aiming ahead. Excerpts:
SI ASIA: It's been 12 years or so, since IAV
has emerged onto the AVSI domain/frontier.
How would you characterize this journey?
KAUSHIK: Like any other startup, the journey involved
crossing the chasm from ideation to company creation and
then balancing the passion of an idea with the reality check of
‘how the business will look in 10 years’ time.’ From a modest
beginning of a team of just three, including me, the task was to
build the right team, right culture and right company trajectory.
Today, we are 167 and growing.
I would say our journey involved four major milestones:
Taking the first steps as an entrepreneur: Considering the
oddities that confront any start-up generically, strategizing
everything from budgeting to executing was vital which we
ensured by means of a thorough planning.
Staking a claim of the market: With no prior references or
track record and only experience and expertise to cash on,
this involved spending time to cultivate relations with new
and existing customers. We have been extremely fortunate
to win the confidence of our customers who truly believed
that we were capable of executing their projects better than
competition. We did not let them down.
Cementing success & Staying ahead of the game: With initial
objectives achieved, next critical stage was to ensure that the
initial growth was sustainable. We set up clear milestones,
such as revenue growth targets, and investing in training our
personnel. We ensured that we had a wider objective with a
feasible deadline and then set smaller targets to bring us closer
to our goal. This in turn ensured that we didn’t lose sight of the
overall plan and kept our business’ growth on track.
Venturing into global markets: Having made our ground
strong at home, we explored off-shore markets. Our existing
customers who were confident with our skillsets, gave us the
first few opportunities of building AV/ITES infrastructure for
their campuses abroad. Gladly, that exposed us to different
work cultures, environments, practices and behavioral patterns.
We put in place some meticulous planning to ensure that we
spread with a strong foot there, while keeping our domestic
business in order.
SI ASIA: What led to the formation of IAV,
and its subsequent spread across Asia/APAC?
KAUSHIK: The formation of IAV is purely out of my passion
and love for AV. I-AV! You see?! Of course, it is also Integrated
Audio Visual and the whole mantra is always around
empowering people to do all the magical things we design
and do in our work everyday. I have been in the AV industry
for many years and had a clear vision and plan as to how I
wanted to structure, develop and expand the company when I
started. Fortunately, things worked out as planned, especially
so because of the great team I am blessed to work with. The
strong relationships with various manufacturers developed
over many years and my earlier international exposures gave
us enough experience and confidence to do projects in other
countries in Asia Pacific region. It has also helped us win
strategic partnerships in international markets.
SI ASIA: What particular achievements have
defined your success, and what oddities have
challenged the progression?
KAUSHIK: We use an unconventional yardstick to measure our
success. It’s an Employee Happiness Quotient. The biggest
achievement we pride ourselves in is to have extremely happy
employees who really enjoy what they do and look forward to
coming to work every morning. We have a very low employee
turnover and a very high E-SAT index. All of us are selfmotivated and truly believe that each of us must find meaning
in our work and excel in it. It is this enthusiasm and motivation
that makes us go that extra mile for our customers and ensure
we deliver quality work. We therefore manage to retain a
near perfect C-SAT index and a very high customer retention
percentage.
Our ever vibrant team and a go-get attitude helped us not to
get affected by ‘oddities.’ We are way too small to get affected
by phenomena such as recessions, and economic downturns of
certain countries. In reality, we are an SME running in full steam
and always look forward to taking our next project.
SI ASIA: What factors you think have
contributed to the success?
KAUSHIK: Our team! Many companies aspire to change the
integration world, but not many have all the elements required:
talent, resources, and perseverance. Fortunately, we have been
able to nurture them in abundance. Happy employees bring in
happier customers. We have an eye for detail and a mind for
quality. We have in place clearly defined business practices to
ensure that the company always remained healthy, reputed and
INTERVIEW
amongst the top. We set our goals for both financial and nonfinancial parameters and ensure they are met year on year. We
lay equal emphasis on innovation, strategies and HR capital.
We also feel obligated to giving back to society and drive our
own Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. All these helps
to balance our eco-system, and give us a sense of happiness
and fulfillment, and that for us, is true success.
SI ASIA: What geographies is IAV strongly
positioned in? What characterizes that
position?
KAUSHIK: Our maximum number of projects have been in
India, Malaysia and Vietnam where we have set-ups. IAV’s
global footprint covers a few other Asian countries as well.
While markets like Singapore are saturated, the opportunities
are very tech-heavy. Malaysia market offers large projects
through Government and infrastructure jobs but gestation
period is high. We are doing quite a few big projects in the
Philippines but the challenge is with the local work culture.
Other countries in Asia and Middle-East, opportunities are
high but we are confronted with yet other different sets of
local challenges. While some could be work-Visa related,
others could be like regime restrictions. Of all these markets,
however, we see India to be most promising. With so much
development happening all around, and the country being
geographically so huge and diverse, opportunities are more in
numbers and types. Indian market is much more mature and
tech-savvy today. I guess it also gives us more flexibility since it
is our home ground.
SI ASIA: How do you think the Industry
has changed? How about the technology
domain?
KAUSHIK: One big evolution may be with the changing
trend in manufacturing segment. Till recently, it had more
or less demarcated domains for audio, video, controls,
and VC product lines. With the onset of Convergence, we
saw the sunset of Analog era, and Digital spreading thick
and fast. More, there has been a marked transformation
with companies, with dedicated product lines turning into
smorgasbords of diverse solutions of audio, video, processing,
lighting, control and connect. Codecs turned softer and
protocols harder! That’s a big transformation, isn’t it?
Technology trends, yes! In fact, change has been so rapid
and relentless that new formats are being overshadowed by
newer ones - even if neither is widespread yet. Consider
the supposed imminence of 8K video, even as 4K
continues to gain traction.
On the audio side, immersive formats
have grown predominant, with
integrators monitoring an array of
formats, such as Atmos, Auro,
and MPEG-H Audio Alliance’s
43
eponymous entry. Dante established itself alongside other
audio-over-Ethernet technologies, while the recent finalization
of the AES67 interoperability standard has smoothed out much
of the remaining wrinkles between networked-audio formats.
On the control side, processors have become smarter and
tablets have replaced touch-panels. Better signal formats in
higher bandwidths now run increasingly longer distances while
offering control capabilities.
AV and IT convergence has become so imposing that
virtually no AV conversation takes place without a thorough
understanding of the network on which it will live.
SI ASIA: In more practical terms- for the
good, and for the bad- may be we call it rat
race, pressure on profit margins, etc.
KAUSHIK: The problem starts with a lower entry barrier that
an ignorant customer often creates for a new opportunity.
There has always been a rat race for run-of-the-mill jobs; there
will always be a market for such jobs that does not necessarily
require an SI who delivers professional standards of install. At
the end of the day, quality and good support comes at a price
and a well-informed customer understands and appreciates
that. More importantly, he is willing to pay for it.
The Taj Mahal was not built by an L1 contractor. This is why
it is important for a customer to understand the skillsets
and experience of a good systems integrator. We now
see more awareness amongst customers – who demand
certified technologists and professionals – that gives them
the confidence
in choosing the right
partner for
their project. There
are a few
reputed consultants
in the
market who play
a major
role in educating
customers
by specifying the
eligibility
criteria for
selecting
SIs right at the
bidding
stage, thereby
separating
the wheat
from the
chaff.
44
INTERVIEW
SI ASIA: What competencies has IAV
developed for itself during this journey?
KAUSHIK: Our biggest focus internally in all these years has
been on three things: one- better systems and processes
that increases our efficiency and deliverables; two- quality of
our installs that we strive to improve constantly; and threetrainings and certifications that are mandatory across all
departments. We pride in being amongst the highest number
of certified professionals as a company. Our logistics processes,
HR policies and Customer Support structure makes us unique.
This has ultimately contributed in making our company
successful and reputed, and give our customers a better
experience.
On the industry front, we have executed over 6000 installs,
acquired over 1800 customers; completed 430-plus
professional Certifications between all employees;, won 27
Awards in 12 Years- all with ONE team… Team IAV!
SI ASIA: What technology/trend you feel is
driving AV industry today?
KAUSHIK: The trend is towards Unified Communications
and Collaborative solutions. We are extremely adaptive
and constantly innovate ourselves to stay abreast with the
latest in technology. This is where we make a difference. We
design solutions for Unified Communication, Augmented
Reality, Video Collaboration, Environment Control, Digital
Entertainment and Energy Management.
SI ASIA: There has been consistent talking
on the challenges faced by Indian AV
industry- dearth of skilled professional talent,
awareness among user communities etc.
What role has IAV played to change this
equation?
KAUSHI: It is true that skilled professional talent is a rarity and
is difficult to source in our industry. Our approach is not only to
search this within our industry but more importantly, in creating
these talents by imparting employees with appropriate industry
and manufacturer training, besides conducting in-house
workshops. So for a professional with limited skillsets, this
practice grooms him / her to a skilled professional with better
talent. Further experience and exposure in the company makes
him / her thorough.
Being a member of Advisory Council of Infocomm India, I’m
part of its key initiatives. One of the key tasks we have initiated
is to induct and develop new talents in the industry. Attracting
such fresh talents from colleges and technical institutes through
presentations and technology workshops is an activity we are
already pursuing for the bigger benefit of the whole industry.
Since our employees are trained with the necessary skill sets,
the new age technologies are understood and shared with the
user communities; they are thus easily incorporated in concept
designs to showcase how these new technologies would bring
in a better ROI, and better user experience.
SI ASIA: Indian AV industry is also criticized
with the statement ‘everyone here does
everything’ (meaning distributors do SI jobs
and vice-versa, and more!). How do you look
at this situation outside India?
KAUSHIK: India is not the only market in Asia where this
happens. These challenges are more to do with specific
company policies of certain players who wish to run their
businesses that way, and it is really up to them as to how they
handle these conflicts of interest.
Different regions have different dynamics and they are often
unique. Indian AV industry is still evolving slowly, but surely.
The challenge you mentioned are a part of this evolution and
we have been in the industry long enough to work around
them, adapt to changes and embrace opportunities to make
most use of them.
SI ASIA: What is the single best value
proposition that IAV seeks to bring to its
clients?
KAUSHIK: Unmatched experience. The customer gets peace
of mind by employing us as we offer smarter designs, superior
quality install, timely deliveries and great technical support.
SI ASIA: Having come thus far – what is the
future- near, and far?
KAUSHIK: Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher, is quoted as
saying ‘change is the only constant in life.’ As the market
dynamics constantly change, we would continue to refresh and
update ourselves to stay ahead of the curve and would strive
to attain a consistent growth. We would continue to invest in
training our workforce to empower it with better knowledge
and skillsets and ultimately deliver better experiences for our
customers.
www.iavindia.com
46
TECH TALK
The Future Of Control Rooms –
Laser Projection Technology For 24/7 Application
Rajiv Bhalla, Managing Director, India, Barco shares his thoughts.
O
ver the last few years, interest in laser projectors
has been increasing within the ProAV space.
Touted as a major technological development that
could eventually replace traditional lamp-based systems,
manufacturers are bringing various implementations for laserbased illumination.
Broadly they are classified into two distinct categories
viz., using a phosphor coated color wheel and the other
implementation (RGB laser technology) eliminates the use of
phosphor coated wheels.
For customers, laser-illumination provides several benefits (see
below) over lamp-based projections; however, it’s important
to understand some of the differences between these new
systems. It has been successfully introduced in a number of
markets, including digital cinema, where it is rapidly replacing
the traditional lamp based approach used for projection due to
lower cost of ownership and replacement when compared to
xenon-based devices. Currently, LED & lamp based technology
are being used that would ultimately pave the way for LASER
based illumination.
Laser projection: just the sound of it tickles the imagination.
Types of Laser technologies
Laser Illumination involving Color Wheels: The industry was
introduced to color phosphor based illumination that solved
the problems of a lamp-based illumination by making use of
a blue laser to excite segments of a phosphor quoted color
wheel to impart color to the image. This implementation
is being currently used in Digital Cinema and certain
manufacturers are also using the same in ProAV projectors.
The use of Color Wheel based illumination technology
involving lasers offers the following advantages over the
conventional lamp based technology.
a. Increased brightness levels
b. Higher lifetimes when compared to lamps
c. Lesser no. of replacement cycles
d. Low inventory levels
e. Safer
Laser Illumination with Direct Laser Illumination: The other
technology avoids the use of color wheels to impart color
and is touted as the “golden standard” in the projection
technologies today. It primarily builds on the fact that there are
no mechanical parts like the phosphor color wheels that are
not meant for 24/7 applications and have a far limited lifetime,
making them unsuitable for 24/7 applications.
Generally speaking, the color wheel approach is an
advancement for the lamp-based illumination, a scenario that
TECH TALK
does not exist in 24/7 control rooms. The 24/7 control rooms
adopted the solid state technology, based on LED illumination
years ago. The use of direct laser illumination is a successor to
the LED illumination technology, that offered lifetimes in the
range of 7~9 years.
Additionally, a critical drawback of the color wheel approach
is the precise uniformity and color matching that is required
for a video wall deployments where each display device has to
blend together giving a perfectly uniform and precise image.
This is not the case with direct laser illumination where color
uniformity and saturation are Best-In-Class and require very less
time for calibration, making deployment and installation much
faster when compared to color wheel based implementations.
Benefits of Direct Laser Approach
For critical 24/7 infrastructure , the use of color wheel based
approach is not suitable due to high dependency on the use of
color wheels which by themselves are prone to failure after a
few years leading to in critical business continuity.
The direct Laser illumination improvises over the use of LED’s
that have for more than 8 years been used in critical 24/7
application. The use of direct laser illumination brings a host of
benefits to system integrators, operators and customer alike.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
47
Very long lifetimes in excess of 9 Years.
Generic increase in brightness by a factor of 2x.
Higher Efficiency
Lower Power Consumption
High color saturation
Precise focus
Unmatched color uniformity.
Conclusion
To conclude, while the ProAV & the D-Cinema are transitioning
towards the Color Wheel based approach to do away with
legacy lamp based issues, the future clearly belongs to direct
laser illumination that would set the benchmark.
www.barco.com
48
TECH TALK
AEC Technology Article Series: Part 2
Echo, Echo, Echo…The Anatomy of Acoustic Echo Cancelling
Technology
By Marco Hendel
I
f you have followed the previous article about Acoustic
Echo Cancellation, you are already aware of what’s
happening inside this mysterious ‘black box’ of an AEC
processing circuit. This time we will move forward and focus
on the implementation of AEC, aiming to achieve maximum
performance of our distance conferencing system.
There are many different ways to design and setup AEC
systems and the following guidelines are just recommendations
for best results. The only constant design consideration that
applies to ALL systems without exception is maintaining proper
gain structure. AEC systems will perform best with unity gain
(0dB) throughout your entire DSP chain, so always keep in
mind there’s nothing more important than setting a proper
gain structure.
Room Acoustics
Acoustic treatment matters! Whether you are using AEC or
not, the rules of physics still apply. An AEC system is not a
solution to improve intelligibility in a highly reverberant and
noisy environment. Spaces that already yield poor intelligibility
make for terrible conferencing rooms. Correcting an acoustic
problem through the use of acoustic treatments and materials
is always best first step.
Microphones and Speakers
Use appropriate placement of microphones to maximize signal
to noise performance. Placing the mic as close as possible to
the person talking will improve your system's performance,
while direct loudspeaker-to-microphone coupling should
be avoided. Obviously this general design guideline is no
different than a typical installation where the designer will try
to optimize gain before feedback.If possible position mics so
the coverage pattern is directed away from air handling noise,
machinery noise, or any other ambient noise.
Microphone choices include ceiling, boundary, gooseneck, DSP
based microphone arrays, or beam forming. Try to find the best
solution for the acoustic challenge at hand. While aesthetics
are important, intelligibility and a great sounding system are
more important to the successful functioning of a conferencing
room.
Purpose-built acoustic treatments are the first line of defense.
Surfaces such as carpets, acoustic tiles, and bookshelves can
provide surface area to absorb, dampen, or at least attenuate
acoustic echo. On the other hand, highly reflective surfaces
(glass, bricks, etc.) will tend to reflect most of the acoustic
energy and create reverberation that may exceed the AEC’s
tail length.
Required Capabilities:
You will of course want to choose the best AEC tool for the
application. When looking for an AEC solution, check for the
following capabilities:
• Full duplex capability
• High audio quality
• Fast convergence time
• Short latency
• Effectiveness at reducing echo
TECH TALK
Reference
We must be careful of how to feed the reference: Whilst
feeding the AEC reference with the "pure" far-end signal
should provide the adaptive filter with the correct feed, that
feed doesn't necessarily take into consideration any processing
or volume changes that may occur within the room. Any such
changes will require re-convergence, potentially resulting in
echo being sent to the far-end.
Thus, when we design a distance conference system, we must
ensure that the reference is taken AFTER any processing and
dynamic volume changes that may occur. The rule of thumb
is: anything that may change the amplitude (volume) of the
far end signal in the speakers must be applied to the AEC
reference as well.
Never ever, under any circumstances, send a near-end
microphone to its own AEC reference. The results will be
catastrophic. In installations where local reinforcement is
utilized, the routing can become a little challenging. This is
where the routing flexibility of the system becomes even more
important than ever, and when designing, we need to consider
carefully what options to employ.
Multiple Microphones
Multiple microphones on a single-channel AEC processor?
One other item to keep in mind when designing AEC systems
is the amount of AEC circuits that will be needed. In a typical
room, the echo picked up by each microphone may or may not
be the same as that of others, as the echo paths and relative
level are likely different. Costs savings can be achieved by
combining the audio of multiple microphones and feed the
resulting mix to a single AEC. Whether this will be sufficient to
remove the entire echo and produce a system that allows for
a true collaborative experience, really depends on whether a
single adaptive filter is enough to handle all the various echo
49
paths within the conferencing space. Will it work? Well, it
depends.
Best practice is to have a dedicated AEC processing per
microphone, ensuring that each microphone gets a dedicated
filter.
Having said that, be weary of multiple AECs in the same audio
path. If you are using a DSP processor with AEC, mixing and
processing multiple microphones, and feeding the resulting
signal to a Video Codec, make sure that any AEC in the Video
Codec is turned off. The AEC on the Video Codec was not
intended to deal with the resulting signal of a DSP processor
managing multiple microphones, so the result will end up with
two AEC in series.
Setting Up an AEC System
Each installation is unique, therefore each system will require
unique EQing and adjustments. Nevertheless, the following
steps provide good performance results for most typical AEC
system installations:
1. Turn down your power amplifiers.
2. Adjust each microphone’s input gain so that the input
meter displays approximately 0dB when someone is
talking in front of the microphone.
3. Adjust the far end’s input gain so that the input meter
displays approximately 0dB when the far end is talking.
4. Adjust your gain structure throughout the entire system to
have nominal 0dB.
5. Slowly bring up the levels of your amplifiers until you have
sufficient signal.
6. Make a test call and adjust inputs gains if required.
7. Once operational, make level changes in the room as
required but do not change the volume of the amplifier, so
as to not ruin the gain structure.
Professional AEC implementations are not
always plug-and-play and there are important
factors to be considered when implementing
for the best possible results. In any AEC
project, good preparation is key and it takes
diligence to consider all of the aspects that are
mentioned here. The end results are end users
who are rewarded with an enjoyable, natural
sounding, and productive distance conferencing
experience. You may even achieve the highest
form of appreciation in the A/V industry: no user
complains at all!
Marco Hendel is an application engineer on
Biamp Systems’ global application engineering
support team, based out of Germany. He is
interested in everything audio-related and enjoys
spending time working on his HiFi electronics
and speakers.
www.biamp.com
50
USER PERSPECTIVE
Oncam Secures World-renowned
Where On-The-Go Surveillance Matters
A
ntoine Bakhache (pictured above), Managing Director
of Bakhache Luxuries, is no match when comes to
spotting the finest gems and jewels. Likewise, for his
business where security is paramount, he is best at recognizing
the importance and value of a good video surveillance solution.
Nestled in Starhill Gallery, Kuala Lumpur’s finest luxury retail
mall in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s golden triangle, Mouawad
jewellery boutique epitomizes exclusivity and fashion.
Established in 1890 and one of the world’s leading jewellers,
the Mouawad group spans luxury outlets across the world
including Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE and USA.
For over a century, Mouawad has been creating spectacular
jewellery destined for its exclusive clientele made up of royalty,
the wealthy elite and celebrities. Adorning the likes of Jennifer
Lopez, Eva Longoria, Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton, Uma
Thurman and many more, Mouawad masterpieces hold several
Guinness World Records like the most expensive single-pear
shape diamond (1990), the most valuable necklace (2013),
the most valuable handbag (2010), the most luxurious lingerie
(2003).
Bakhache, who helms the Malaysian operations of Mouawad
is a nephew of the third-generation family business leader
Robert Mouawad. At the same time, Antoine is also a certified
gemologist from the prestigious Gemological Institute in
America.
Besides Mouawad, Bakhache also represents and manages
renowned French silverware manufacturer Christofle and the
world’s oldest barbershop Truefitt & Hill.
USER PERSPECTIVE
51
Luxury Jeweller Mouawad
Complete Situational Awareness
Managing well over a dozen outlets around Kuala Lumpur is no
easy job. Being always on the move, Bakhache had previously
installed eight surveillance cameras in his flagship Mouawad
boutique in Starhill. However, despite that, he was still not fully
satisfied with the existing camera's resolution, the fragmented
viewing and limited remote accessibility.
“Through the previous CCTV system, I was having difficulty
being able to get a bird-eye view of my store, especially when
away,” said Bakhache.
When he was first introduced to Oncam's 360º surveillance
cameras by Stratel (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the authorized
distributor for Oncam in the region, Bakhache was amazed.
“I was literally taken in by the technology and ease of use
offered on the mobile app and immediately knew it was the
right technology for my business.”
Two weeks later, Bakhache invested in Oncam’s 360°
technology and the system was installed by professional
integrator Viva Network Sdn Bhd.
“With Oncam, I can quickly check any part of
my store effortlessly, zoom in and rotate the
view as much as I want - live and recorded. I
never miss a thing.”
Using a QNAP NVR, the surveillance solution meets all of
Bakhache’s requirements. Hardly noticeable, the concealed
device blends nicely with the refined surrounding and despite
the presence of a huge column in the middle of the boutique,
there is no blind spot in the field of view.
Due to his positive experience with Oncam, Bakhache is
already thinking ahead and planning for another use of Oncam
in his upcoming new business.
www.oncamgrandeye.com
A QUICK GLANCE
CLIENT
Mouawad is a world renowned luxury jeweller catering
to royalty and world celebrities. The local distributor
Bakhache Luxuries Sdn Bhd is a fast growing group which
also manages established brands like Christofle, Truefitt &
Hill, Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Castania.
CHALLENGE
Owner Bakhache wanted a surveillance solution covering
the entire boutique floor that is user-friendly to operate
and remotely accessible from his smart phone.
SOLUTION
Oncam assisted Stratel and Viva Network with the design
and installation of the Evolution 360-degree concealed
camera along with on-site NVR from QNAP.
RESULTS
The system drastically improved the situational awareness
of the store while allowing the owner to effortlessly access
remotely his surveillance system.
52
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
12 - 14 September 2016
Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai
www.infocomm-india.com
“
InfoComm India 2015 was
packed with product debuts,
cutting-edge technology
demonstrations and visions
of smart cities, all of which
helped to connect the various
stakeholder communities,
”
wrote Systems Integration Asia
in a review last year. InfoComm
India 2016 will return to Bombay
Exhibition Centre from 12 to
14 September 2016, this time
shining the spotlight on the
Internet of AudioVisual (AV)
Things. Over 200 exhibitors
from 20 countries will be a part
of what is to be India’s largest
showcase of AV and Information
Communications Technologies
(ICT) solutions – more than 30 of
whom will be exhibiting for the
first time. There are also over 70
solutions debuting in India via
the show.
For systems integrators, the
Internet of AV Things presents
a hotbed of opportunities.
Beyond connected systems
and devices, manufacturers
and end-users alike are now
looking at turnkey solutions
with analytical tools. Big Data’s
importance is burgeoning, as it
is vital to achieving efficiency
and uptime in productions. Your
ability to see both sides of the
AV-ICT coin is what makes your
expertise so sought after in this
new era.
Many AV solutions now ride
on the network. Digital AV
architectures are scalable; and,
unlike in the past, it is more
affordable to add and expand
systems. And then there are
the new demands and endless
possibilities – digital signage
must now pair with wearable
technology to create wow
experiences. Sound engineers
may one day be able to mix
audio for global events via a
web browser. There is no
need for them to leave their
own studios.
This September, invigorate your
business by being at InfoComm
India 2016. This Professional
AV and ICT show is a confluence
of industry stakeholders and
end-users. Here, you will get
to see a multitude of cuttingedge solutions as well as tap
into networking opportunities
with the industry’s movers
and shakers.
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
WHAT MAKES INFOCOMM INDIA A MUST-ATTEND EVENT IN YOUR CALENDAR
LIES IN ITS ABILITY TO GALVANIZE THE INDUSTRY’S TRAILBLAZERS.
With an impressive line-up of solutions spanning from browser-based
collaboration platforms to line array-point source loudspeakers,
InfoComm India 2016 is where you can see and experience the next
generation of technology. Get direct face time with true innovators
and learn how their products can eliminate bottlenecks and
improve workflows.
Another staple of the show, the Summit is replete with learning and
networking opportunities. Become privy to market insights as industry
experts as well as end-users trade and share insider knowledge.
53
Brands like
Delta, Epson, Harman,
Kramer, Panasonic
and many more will be
on deck to showcase
solutions never before
seen in India.
• Over 200 companies from 20
countries across various regions
• More than 30 new exhibitors
(first time at InfoComm India)
• Over 70 new products and
solutions (first time in India)
India 2015, we managed to find
“newAt InfoComm
products that we could possibly employ in
our experience centers. The show was also a good
platform for networking. We got to connect with
many OEMs and system integrators under one roof.
While at the show, we took the opportunity to renew
our contracts with current vendors as well.
”
Neeraj Gupta, VP Technologies, Accenture,
a consultancy company that develops and implements technology
solutions to raise clients’ productivity and efficiency.
54
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
MORE THAN 30
FIRST-TIME EXHIBITORS
among the 200 participating companies at the
show will inspirit InfoComm India 2016 with
never-before networking opportunities.
Connect with US-based Sound Control Technologies, a purveyor of camera
integration solutions as well as conference and video reinforcement integrations.
A critic favorite and finalist in several award categories, Tripleplay Services Asia
software solutions – HD IPTV, video-on-demand streaming solution and digital signage
system – run on a single server, ensuring seamless integration between all services. Brush
shoulders with these and many other exhibitors, and open your eyes to new possibilities.
FIRST-TIME EXHIBITORS BRING NEW SURPRISES TO SHOW FLOOR
Here is a preview of some of these names.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE SWITCHER
CAPABLE OF ZERO-SECOND LATENCY
SMART TRACKING
IN THE CLASSROOM
C&C Technic Taiwan will showcase
its Presentation Switcher, a switching
equipment with 6x2 transmission
interfaces. Both a switcher and converter,
it can handle virtually all video and audio
signals on its six inputs including HDMI
and VGA. The built-in extender interface
also allows the integration of external
accessory devices to transmit data or to
over long distances up to 70 meters.
With iSmart Video Tech’s LTC series
IP/HD-SDI, there is no need to deploy
extra devices or sensors to assist with
tracking. This model adopts state-of-theart face and motion detection technology
to precisely lock and track a lecturer all
around the classroom. The camera image
automatically adapts to the lecturer’s
height. Its two lenses can display 1080p/60
images via HD-SDI interfaces.
Milestone Pro’s MPM series of 4x4,
6x6, 8x8 4K HDBaseT matrix switchers
come with HDMI Input – HDMI1.4 and
HDCP2.2 compliant – and HDBaseT
(RJ-45) output with HDMI loop Output
with de-embedded audio. The HDBaseT
outputs transmit 4K signals up to 40
meters; and 1080p signals up to 70
meters over a single CAT5e/Cat6 cable.
MAKE A SPLASH WITH
WATERPROOF MICROPHONES
MODULAR VIDEO WALL CONTROLLERS
FOR LARGE-SCALE AND
MISSION-CRITICAL APPLICATIONS
INTERACTIVE DISPLAY
FOR EASY COLLABORATION
Taiwanmic’s head-worn microphones
are certified with an IP57 waterproof
rating, allowing the microphone to be
submerged in water to a depth of 1
meter. With the proper connector, it is
compatible with every brand of wireless
system. This is perfect for use by
entertainers working in theme parks and
amusement centers.
Digibird Technology’s DB series of modular
video wall controllers are expandable and
flexible. The six chassis models can support
12x8 to 152x144 HD inputs and HD displays.
The system also blends centralized and
distributed processing architectures, allowing
remote input sources to be connected to the
DigiBird video wall controller via IP decoder
cards and DigiBird encoders that stream
media content over a network.
4K HDBASET MATRIX SWITCHERS FOR USE
IN BOARDROOMS & AUDITORIUMS
The TRUTOUCH X Series features
Newline Interactive’s TRUFlat technology.
Take notes on a digital whiteboard
and share the information with the
accompanying unified collaboration
software. Two 1080p wide-angle cameras
let you be seen from anywhere in the room.
The powerful on-board computer
also stores all of your files and
information locally.
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
55
THE 2016 EDITION OF
INFOCOMM INDIA WILL FEATURE
OVER 70 NEW-TO-INDIA PRODUCTS
Hitachi, PeopleLink Unified Communications, Restmoment
Electron, Shenzhen Shunxun Electronics, WolfVision are among
the 200-plus exhibitors showcasing their brainchildren.
Be the first to see these solutions being introduced into India.
NEW-TO-INDIA-PRODUCTS TO SPARK YOUR IMAGINATION
Here is a quick look at some of the exciting new technologies.
CONTROL ARCHITECTURE REIMAGINED
WEAVE 3D MAGIC IN REAL TIME
Easily control any AV system, infrastructure
or device with Kramer Control by Kramer
Electronics. The platform comprises three
modules: Control Center; Builder; and
Analytics Dashboard. The Control Center
is used for defining project content and
scope. Its cloud-based Builder lets users
create, edit and configure room control
systems from anywhere in the world.
The Analytics Dashboard gathers data
and generates reports such as device
performance, room usage, operational
efficiency and energy usage.
3D projection is no longer exclusive to the
movie world. Experience interactive 3D
visualizations in real time with HOLOBOX
by Oorja Interactive. Place objects inside
it and use gestures to interact with a 3D
mechanical model for a true immersive
experience. Let museum guests “touch”
rare artefacts or allow event goers to see
life-size projections of mega celebrities.
UHD FLAT PANEL WITH PLUG
& PLAY SIMPLICITY
4K FULL HD LASER VIDEO WALL
FOR THE CONTROL ROOM
FIRST-EVER SCALERS FOR
CRITICAL 4K APPLICATIONS
The Christie FHQ981-L is a highperformance 98” LCD flat panel that
delivers exceptional image quality,
contrast and color-rich images for various
applications. Providing a seamless
canvas and an alternative to 2x2 tiled
46-inch displays, this versatile unit is
compatible with digital signage devices
and media players including Christie
Spyder and Christie Pandoras Box.
Delta has launched the first laser video wall
that is IP6X certified, making it highly durable
for outdoor applications. In addition to its
unmatched brightness of 2,150 lumens, these
50” cubes offer HD resolution, excellent
standards in brightness uniformity (≥ 98%),
wide viewing angle and true redundancy. The
video wall also embeds the distributive vision
control system to allow control rooms to
capture, distribute, manage and display
HD video signals over an IP network.
Extron’s DSC HD-HD 4K Plus A and
DSC HD-HD Plus A xi are the industry’s
first scalers capable of converting HDMI
resolutions up to 4K/60 frames with full
4:4:4 signal processing. They boast many
integrator-friendly features, such as onscreen display, stereo audio embedding
and de-embedding, internal test patterns,
and the ability to display custom images
and logos for on-screen corporate
branding and messaging.
SEE THE WORLD’S FIRST 3LCD LASER
PROJECTOR WITH 25,000 LUMENS
Epson India will introduce the flagship
L25000U, a laser projector that is a boon
for high-impact productions. The 4K
enhancement projector processes 4K
signals and upscales 1080p signals to 4K
resolution. High reliability is its hallmark,
thanks to a sealed optical engine and
a 20,000-hour-long laser lifespan. The
L25000U also boasts a wide lens shift
range and supports 360-degree angles.
Other salient features include geometric
correction and an auto-calibration camera.
56
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
Promising free and meaningful learning sessions, InfoComm India 2016 Summit is where you can gain expert
insights and stay ahead of AudioVisual (AV) and Information Communications Technology (ICT) trends. To facilitate
knowledge-sharing, select keynote presentations will be followed by panel discussions involving esteemed Indian
trade associations.
C-suites, directors, professors and senior managers from various organizations such as CISCO, Jurong Consultants
India, INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation, Indian Institute of Management, LANG and many more will share
their valuable insights as well as industry forecasts.
HOW A SMART
CITY WILL
IMPACT THE
LIVES OF
49 MILLION
INDIVIDUALS
CEO of Surbana
Jurong Consultants
(South Asia and Middle East), Dr
Uma Maheswaran will draw on his
experience in design consultancy
as well as architecture to shed
light on the challenges India will
face in her smart-city mission.
Currently leading the vision
planning exercise, Dr Uma will
illuminate on the master plan for
riverfront capital city Amaravati
in Andhra Pradesh. This is a
rare chance to learn how this
development could potentially be
a model for other smart cities.
TECHNOLOGY
AS A FULCRUM
IN THE
CREATION OF
SMART CITIES
Further fueling
the conversation
on smart cities is
Mr Gary Hall of Cisco’s Federal
Defense Business. The Chief
Technology Officer is tasked
with leading the establishment’s
federal strategy and planning for
the Internet of Everything. Mr Hall
will discuss the importance of
technology and its contributions
to building a smart city. In a
subsequent session, he will
also share on digitalization and
how the Internet of Things will
permeate and change everything.
SECURITY IN AN
INCREASINGLYSOPHISTICATED
TECHNOLOGICAL
MILIEU
With the
proliferation of
technology comes
the push for cybersecurity.
The onus is on companies and
government bodies to zero in
on and rectify vulnerabilities in
infrastructures. Dr Madan Oberoi,
Director of Cyber Innovation and
Outreach Directorate, INTERPOL
Global Complex for Innovation,
will share on cybercrime
takedowns. The Hubert Humphrey
Fellow currently supervises two
sub-directorates – Strategy &
Outreach as well as Research &
Innovation – in his agency.
Full Summit programme and updates
are available at
www.infocomm-india.com
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
57
KEEP ABREAST WITH EMERGING
TRENDS AND ELEVATE
YOUR CALIBER WITH PIVOTAL
INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE.
12 - 14 September 2016 • Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai • www.infocomm-india.com
12 SEPTEMBER 2016
(Monday)
10am – 6pm
13 SEPTEMBER 2016
(Tuesday)
10am – 6pm
14 SEPTEMBER 2016
(Wednesday)
10am – 4pm
INFOCOMM INDIA 2016 SUMMIT PROGRAM 12 - 14 SEPTEMBER 2016
OVERVIEW
DAY 1: MONDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER
TIME
SEMINAR ROOM 1
10:00AM –
10:30AM
Opening
Ceremony
& Keynote
Presentations
10:30AM –
11:30AM
SEMINAR ROOM 3
Entertainment &
Live Events
Industry Forum
“Up Your Ante:
Latest Technologies
for Live Events”
Infocomm
University
Seminars
“AV
Technology and
Market Trends”
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Infrastructure
Development
Industry Forum
“Design, Planning
and Technology
for Smarter
Cities”
Defence
Industry Forum
“India: Towards
Smart Defence”
Infocomm
University
Seminars
“AV Technology
and Market Trends”
Acoustics
Technology
Forum
“Creating an
Immersive Sound
Experience”
Education
Industry Forum
“The Future of
Education in
India: From
Cradle to
Grave”
Infocomm
University
Seminars
“AV Technology and
Market Trends”
11:30AM –
12:30PM
12:30PM –
1:30PM
1:30PM –
2:30PM
2:30PM –
3:30PM
3:30PM –
4:30PM
4:30PM –
5:30PM
DAY 2: TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER
SEMINAR ROOM 2
Manufacturer’s
Presentation
SEMINAR ROOM 1
SEMINAR ROOM 2
SEMINAR ROOM 3
Infocomm
Home Audio
IT Industry Forum
University
“Cyber Security and Technology Forum
Seminars
“All about
Internet of Things:
“AV
Technology
and
Acoustics and
Changing the
Market
Trends”
Electrics”
Landscape
of Technology”
Manufacturer’s
Presentation
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER
SEMINAR ROOM 1
SEMINAR ROOM 2
SEMINAR ROOM 3
Technology
Forum
AUDIOFORUM
Presented by
Connessioni
Infocomm
University
Seminars
“AV Technology
and Market
Trends”
Infocomm
University
Seminars
“AV Technology
and Market
Trends”
Manufacturer’s
Presentation
ENQUIRIES
General: [email protected]
Organized by:
Organised by:
A project of:
Co-located event:
INDIA’S PREMIER SECURITY EXPO
58
EXHIBITION PREVIEW
Building Smarter Cities From Blueprint To Scale At Asia’s
Largest Emerging Technology Showcase
T
he IoT Show Asia is the back for its second edition
and this time, co-located with The Commercial UAV
Show Asia to demonstrate real world applications of
emerging technologies. Organised by Terrapinn, the two
shows go beyond the possibility rhetoric, instead focusing on
implementation and monetisation.
The two-day event will feature over 100 international speakers
and industry experts from over 20 countries. Through real
world case studies and interactive panel discussions, the show
will highlight critical insights and best practices, demonstrating
how these technologies can make a difference in businesses.
For the opening conference, Winner of the FT & McKinsey
Business Book of the Year 2015 and Author of Rise of
Robots, Martin Ford will share about the impact of emerging
technologies on our lives and how we need to adapt our
skills development and mind-sets as we enter a new industrial
age. Ben Chung from Cisco will then guide us through
how emerging technologies like IoT and UAVs will help to
accelerate the development and digitalisation of smart cities.
The IoT Show Asia & The Commercial UAV
Show Asia Aims To Break Down Barriers
& Propel The Deployment of Emerging
Technologies In Smart Cities.
The IoT Show Asia will be the key platform for delegates to
uncover how they can monetise IoT for their business in four
The IoT Show Asia 2016 & The
Commercial UAV Show Asia
Date: 1-2 September 2016
Venue: Suntec Singapore International Convention &
Exhibition Centre, Level 4, Hall 404-406
key applications - Smart Cities, Smart Manufacturing, Smart
Logistics and Smart Worksites.
Helming the smart cities keynote panel will be Wilson Ang of
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Choi
Young-Hoon of Seoul Metropolitan Government South Korea,
Frans-Anton Vermast of Amsterdam Smart City and Setiaji of
Jakarta Smart City. Together, they will share their insights on
From Blueprint to Scale, What Does it Take to Become a Smart
City.
The co-located Commercial UAV Show Asia will demonstrate
how UAVs are helping to save time, money and lives in the
applications including mining, oil and gas, utilities; e-commerce
and delivery, humanitarian efforts and beyond. Bringing
together key industry stakeholders like James Spillane of FAA,
Analiza L Acosta-Dofitas of CAAP and Michael Rudolph of
DCAA, our regulators’ panel will establish the foundations for
safe and effective UAV flight in the region.
Predicted to gather over 2,500 attendees, the exhibition will
also bring together the IoT and UAV ecosystem from leading
manufacturers and suppliers with the latest technologies to
up-and-coming start-ups innovations disrupting the industry
to help business monetise their deployment. The event will
feature a Demo Theatre and an IoT & UAV University with free
content available for the public to attend.
For more information, you can call +65 63 222 715 or visit:
www.terrapinn.com/uavasia
www.terrapinn.com/iotshow
CELEBRATING AUDIO-VISUAL EXCELLENCE
AT THE INAUGURAL
SYSTEMS INTEGRATION INDIA AWARDS
Event: SI INDIA AWARDS COCKTAIL EVENT
Day: Monday, 12 September 2016
Venue: At the Bombay Exhibition Centre Grounds
Time: 6pm - 9pm
BY INVITE
ONLY
Award Platinum Partners:
Award Gold Partners:
Organised by:
w
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w
.
s
i
i
n
d
Official Media:
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60
EXHIBITION REVIEW
By Shireen Ho
InfoComm 2016: Where Learning Never Ends
A
record 1,000 exhibitors, including
211 new exhibitors, filled the
Las Vegas Convention Center
between June 8-10 for InfoComm 2016,
occupying 527,105 net square feet of
exhibit and special events space.
Attendees registered for more than
12,000 seats at InfoComm University
sessions throughout the week, more than
double the number engaged in training
and education in 2015. Approximately
one-third more unique attendees took
InfoComm University™ training at
InfoComm than in the past.
The spike in training interest was
driven in part by the 2,620 seminar and
workshop packages sold. InfoComm
2016 was the first time attendees could
pay one price and take any of more than
100 courses during exhibition days.
"The AV industry's commitment to
advancing technology and showcasing it
at InfoComm has never been stronger,"
said Jason McGraw, CTS®, CAE, Senior
Vice President of Expositions, InfoComm
International®.
"The market is constantly
changing and we've been
pleased to introduce new
features at InfoComm, such
as drones, the Internet of
Things, and content creation
and streaming, which reflect
the dynamic nature of
commercial AV."
InfoComm 2016 welcomed more than
38,833 visitors, 4.8 percent more than
the last time the show was held in Las
Vegas, affirming its continued strength
as the best-attended annual conference
and exhibition for AV buyers and sellers
in the Western Hemisphere. More than
35 percent of attendees were visiting
InfoComm for the first time.
"This is a thriving, growing, busy industry
— especially this time of year — and the
fact that so many professionals continue
to gather in one place, including
new faces and dedicated InfoComm
attendees, underscores the important
role that the show plays in the success
of their businesses and their careers,"
said David Labuskes, CTS, RCDD,
Executive Director and CEO, InfoComm
International.
Unable to attend the show? Let us run
you through the exhibition quickly with
this comprehensive InfoComm coverage.
Unified Communications and
Collaboration (UC&C)
For key technology highlights, UC&C
is definitely one of which that garnered
attention. From well-established brands
that we are familiar with, to prominent
brands from the IT space such as
Logitech and Intel, joined the fray with
their new innovations.
Making their debut at InfoComm,
Logitech (www.logitech.com) brought
with them their latest ware, the GROUP
Video Conferencing System. Designed
for mid-large size meeting rooms, the
conference kit delivers 1080p video
quality to VC calls with a wide 90-degree
field of view. It works with most of the
UC and video collaboration softwares
and can be easily connected to any
computing device via USB. What we like
about GROUP is the Windows-lookalike
interface which helped to simplify the
navigation experience.
Speaking of simplifying user experience,
Logitech also teamed with Pexip
(www.pexip.com) to come up with
EXHIBITION REVIEW
a fully automated video meeting
experience using NFC (Near Field
Communication) technology. Combining
Logitech's ConferenceCam line of
videoconferencing cameras and
endpoints with Pexip's Infinity Connect
Mobile app, joint enterprise customers
can now automatically start or join
meetings by holding their NFC-enabled
phone up against a compatible Logitech
device.
Nureva HDL300 audio conferencing system
Established in 2014, Nureva (www.
nureva.com) is a young company. But
don't be fooled by its short history as the
brains behind the company, David Martin
and Nancy Knowlton, are well-known
industry veterans who were previously
from SMART Technologies and were
responsible for introducing the SMART
Board™ interactive whiteboard to the
world in 1991. Continuing their passion
for innovation, Nureva showcased
its latest collaboration solutions with
industry-pioneering HDL300 audio
conferencing system taking the lead.
Using Nureva's patent-pending audio
processing technology, the HDL300
integrated wall-mounted microphone
and speaker system is said to be 15
times more powerful than conventional
systems and is able to create and
process sound from more than 8,000
precise locations in a room. By focusing
on intended voices while retaining
natural ambient sounds, remote
participants will feel like they are in the
same location. With it, fumbling with
microphones during meetings becomes
a thing of the past!
ClearOne (www.clearone.com) also
took the opportunity to introduce its
new compact two-channel DIALOG 20,
a system that increases the breadth of
its wireless microphone product line,
while Cisco (www.cisco.com) was seen
demonstrating their latest Telepresence
MX700 and 800 video collaboration
room systems. Featuring dual 55”
screens for MX700 and dual or single
70” screen options for MX800, users can
choose from a powerful single camera
or an intelligent dual-camera speakertracking solution.
Ricoh (www.ricoh.com) demonstrated
an array of more than a dozen solutions
that ranges from projectors, interactive
flat displays to unified communication
systems. Some key product highlights
include: interactive ultra-short throw
RICOH PJ WX4152NI projector, RICOH
Unified Communication System P3500M,
and RICOH Interactive Whiteboard
D2200.
With over 1.5 million users in Japan,
DisplayNote (www.DisplayNote.com)
is a popular brand among students and
teachers in the country. At InfoComm,
DisplayNote continued with what
they did best and made several key
upgrades to the Montage where up
to 40 attendees (previously 6) can
simultaneously connect to a session to
share and contribute equally.
Sony Project Eye2Eye
Visual specialist Sony (www.sony.
com) spiced up visitors' experience
with Project Eye2Eye, a telepresence
system that facilitates real-time social
interactions in virtual spaces. Using a
network of depth cameras and projectors
to track the form and motion of remote
users, the system is able to instantiate
users into a shared virtual space that can
be transmitted to each location's local
display. The life-sized display can be
projection mapped onto area geometry,
allowing for installation in a diverse array
of settings. From a beach in Phuket to
a rainforest in Amazon, users can have
their pick of virtual meeting venues...
61
AV Control & Management
Industry leader Crestron (www.crestron.
com) made a big announcement by
unveiling the groundbreaking Avia
DSPs and software tools. Engineered
to simplify professional audio setup
in commercial and institutional
applications, the Avia DSPs features
a game-changing DSP programming
tool, as well as a robust selection of
amplifiers that support audio over IP
using Dante™ audio networking. All
new audio solutions integrate natively
with DigitalMedia™, touch screens,
Fusion® Cloud, and unified collaboration
technology as part of a comprehensive
Crestron solution. Judging by the
reaction from audio pros on the show
floor, the Avia is set to create some
ripples in the AV world.
After making a big introduction with
Kramer Network at ISE, Kramer (www.
kramerav.com) continued its innovative
legacy by launching Kramer Control
at InfoComm. An agile cloud-based
control, Kramer ushers in a new era of
AV control by migrating all setup logic
to the cloud, leaving only Smart Units
on the premises. At a fraction of time
and cost, Kramer Control allows users
to seamlessly navigate to any room in
an organization and easily control AV
systems, infrastructures and devices,
including Kramer wireless collaboration
products, audio products and systems,
thermostats, HVAC, lights, shades,
alarms, security, video conferencing and
many more. Remote-control seems to be
the key these days.
Displays & Projectors
Over at the front of visual and display
technologies, Delta (www.deltaww.com)
debuted several new Vivtek projectors
which included the Qumi Q8, the world's
smallest native 1080p projector; the
DU7090Z, one of the world's quietest
6,000lm WUXGA laser projectors; and
the DH759USTi, a 1080p ultra-short
EXHIBITION REVIEW
panel technology, it allows for excellent
off-angle viewing and less color shift
compared to other technologies, making
it a superior signage solution.
throw projector that offers interactive
10-point touch on a screen size up to
110" diagonal. Delta also debuted the
140” 8K Laser DLP rear projection cube
video wall.
Want more video wall solutions? Planar
(www.planar.com) expanded their
award-wining Clarity Matrix Video Wall
series with two new models. The first
of the new model is the Clarity Matrix
MX555HDX LCD video wall display with
the industry's smalled tiled bezel width
at just 1.6mm. Also new to the line-up
is the Clarity Matrix LX46HDU-3D, an
LCD video wall solution for customers
seeking a large format stereoscopic
display for professional 3D visualization
applications.
Exhibiting together with Planar, Leyard
(www.leyard.com) also took the
occasion to introduce their brand new
TWA series. Available in 1.2mm and
1.8mm (to launch in Q3/4 2016) pixel
pitch, the unique 54-inch flat panel offers
24/7 reliability coupled with a common
form factor of 16:9 aspect ratio.
Christie Apex Series
Projection leader Christie (www.
christiedigital.com) welcomed visitors
with a visual feast of visual and display
technologies, with the new Apex Series
of LED tiles making its show debut. Part
of the Christie Velvet family, the Apex
series comes with pixel pitches starting
at 1.2mm. Designed for 24/7 critical
viewing applications, the new series is
suitable for installations in command
& control rooms and high security
surveillance monitoring.
Looking for a projector that delivers
the perfect image on a domed/curved
surface? The XEED 4K500ST native
4K projector by Canon (http://global.
canon) was a pleasant surprise. Thanks
63
Canon XEED 4K500ST
to a newly developed 4K wide zoom
lens, the XEED 4K500ST is capable of
projecting large images from a short
distance, as well as a peripheral focusing
function that enables the projection
of images onto curved screens. The
projector is also the only one of its kind
to feature a lens that has a constant
aperture of F2.6 across the entire zoom
range. Designed for a wide range
of applications including simulation,
medical imaging and engineering, the
projector offers superb 4K resolution
whilst being compact and lightweight.
A leader in visual experience, Panasonic
(www.panasonic.com) lived up to
expectations by launching a number
of new visual technologies. Through
engaging demonstrations, the company
introduced a new flagship 4K+ SOLID
SHINE Laser 3-Chip DLP Projector for
large-venue installations along with
PT-RZ970 Series 1-Chip DLP Projector
for corporate, education, control rooms,
museums and more. Featuring 10,400
and a high 10,000:1 contrast ratio, the
PT-RZ970 is engineered for virtually
maintenance-free long-haul operation.
Casio (www.casioprojector.com)
highlighted its range of lampfree
projectors at the show. Visitors were
shown its award-winning XJ-F210WN
Lampfree projector that is said to have
a 20,000-hour estimated operating
life but uses half the amount of power
per unit than traditional lamp-based
projectors. Ideal for classrooms, lecture
halls and digital signage applications,
the advanced series projector combines
a laser, fluorescent element and a LED
light to deliver a mercury-free hybrid
light source.
NEC Display Solutions (www.
necdisplay.com) also captured visitor's
attention with its 55" Ultra Narrow Bezel
S-IPS Video Wall Display. Utilising S-IPS
DigiBird (www.digibirdtech.com)
exhibited for the fourth time as they
constructed its largest video wall display
along with the company's popular line
of matrixes and, modular and compact
video wall controllers. On showcase
was the DB-VRC4 series compact video
wall controller that is able to rotate
video walls at 1-degree increments.
The product is slated for release in
September 2016.
But that is not all as Samsung (www.
samsung.com) continued the digital
signage extravaganza with solutions such
as the mirror video walls, dual view flat
OLED display and arched OLED signage
while LG Electronics (www.lg.com)
announced an expansion of solution
partners which included Scala, Gauddi,
PingHD, ONELAN, Signagelive and
Intuilab - for its popular webOS smart TV
platform "webOS for Signage”.
Audio Innovations
On the audio front, Lab.gruppen
(http://labgruppen.com) unveiled three
1 U amplifiers for its install dedicated D
Series, as well as three new additions
to its LUCIA range of ultra-compact
and highly cost-effective power amps.
The new LUCIA 60 W power models are
available with either 4-in, 4-out matrixmixer (LUCIA 60/2M), two-in, two-out
configuration (LUCIA 60/2) or two-in, oneout for the 70 V model (LUCIA 60/1-70).
Lab.gruppen LUCIA 60 W
Visitors at d&b audiotechnik (www.
dbaudio.com) also got a first glimpse
of a major new development – the
introduction of a dedicated software
plug-in for QSC Q-SYS. The detail
control interoperability enabled by this
NEW
International Exhibition of Professional Technologies and
Services for the Entertainment and Creation Industry
31 October – 2 November, 2016
Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre
www.prrol
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Let’s master it.
From hotels and retail to clubs and
entertainment venues, find the finest
audio-visual solutions right here.
Are you a sound designer, system integrator, venue operator or AV
professional? Discover fit-for-purpose audio-visual equipment that
meets the needs of various organisations and venues, intelligently
and cost-effectively.
Register online to visit at www.prolightsoundME.com/SIA
EXHIBITION REVIEW
dedicated software module means the
easy integration of d&b amplifiers as part
of a Q-SYS DSP network system. With
it, integrators will be able to provide
Power on/off, Mute, Gain and other amp
controls from any Q-SYS device and vice
versa.
Symetrix Solux NX Series
Speaking of audio management,
Symetrix (www.symetrix.com) connects
with visitors with its newly announced
Solus NX lineup. Designed for
standalone DSP applications that don't
require Dante™ networking, the three
DSP models (16x8, 8x8, 4x8) provide the
same processing power and memory
as the Symetrix Radius, Prism and Edge
products. Visitors to the booth also got a
first look at Symetrix soon-to-be-released
Control Server, a powerful network-based
control platform for Symetrix DSPs.
The Harman (www.harman.com) family
of brands also launched a wide span of
audio & control solutions. Beginning with
the CBT-1000 Column Loudspeakers
and VMA and CSA Series of amps by
JBL to AMX's SVSI N1512 Windowing
Processor, N1115 Encoder Wallpate
and 7” N-Touch Series Touch panel
– there are just too many to see! The
industry major is clearly living up to many
intergrators' expectations.
Other than the big boys, we also saw
a number of innovative companies
showcasing interesting solutions.
They include Stewart Audio (www.
stewartaudio.com) with their new
MC850 Series Amplifiers, an 8-channel
Dante audio amp; Listen Technologies
(www.listentech.com) and their new
Listen WiFi, which will be available
worldwide in September; and Attero
Tech (www.atterotech.com) with their
latest Dante unD6IO, a 4-in, 2-out I/O
interface that adds up to 6 channels of
Dante audio to an existing Dante-based
networked audio system.
The Nuts & Bolts Of AV
Going on behind the flashy screens and
booming loudspeakers, we have our
usual faithful stream of suppliers for AV
distribution solutions.
Starting with DVIGear (www.dvigear.
com), the leading manufacturer
exhibited its game-changing
DisplayNet™ AV-Over-10GbE
distribution platform. An awardwinning concept for AV distribution,
the DisplayNet leverages upon 10GbE
Ethernet technology to switch, extend
and distribute uncompressed AV signals
in real time with resolutions up to 4K
(UHD).
Next, we have Gefen (www.gefen.com),
who showcased their latest HDBaseT™
Extender, the EXT-DVIKA-HBT2.
Compliant with 4K UHD, HDMI 2.0,
HDCP 2.2, and Power Over HDBaseT™,
the EXT-DVIKA-HBT2 extends DVI over
a single CAT-5e cable, up to 150 meters.
Interested buyers might also want
to take note that the product is now
available for pre-order.
In terms of new solutions, RGBLink
(www.RGBLink.com) enhances their
software control offerings with their
latest unified app platform XPOSE.
Designed for RGBLink's advanced
universal processors such as the X series,
the XPOSE is a modern app for both
Windows and MacOS that allows the
remote configuration and control.
XPOSE also features a 2D virtual canvas
on which monitors and display devices
can be arranged WYSIYG style for a
representation of the real-world physical
arrangement. Signals/sources can then
be placed and layered anywhere on
the virtual canvas, as well as be scaled
pixel-to-pixel. Signals can be snapped to
displays for quick configuration, amongst
a host of other features. For even more
65
intuitive use, XPOSE also includes the
ability to preview sources directly in the
app whether connected by LAN or Wi-Fi.
No longer a stranger to InfoComm,
video distribution specialist ZeeVee
(www.ZeeVee.com) also demonstrated
a strong lineup of video and signal
distribution solutions that includes the
ZyperMX, ZyperHD, ZvMXE, HD Bridge
300 and many more.
Similarly, Analog Way (www.analogway.
com) was also seen on the ground,
showcasing the VIO 4K, a premium multiformat converter that includes a variety
of innovative features for LED wall
applications. Other solutions exhibited
include the Ascender 48-4K-PL, which
has been updated with new features.
Opticis DPFX200-TR
For point-to-point cable solutions,
Korean manufacturer Opticis (www.
opticis.com) pursue visitors with their
latest optical DisplayPort extender
DPFX-200-TR. Compact in size, the
DPFX-200-TR transmitter and receiver
set uses 2LC fibre connection to transmit
WQUXGA at 60Hz signal up to 100m.
The DPFX-200-TR can also be operated
by USB power without external DC
power adapter.
High performance KVM specialist Adder
(www.adder.com) launched AdderLink
XDIP. Helping users to locate critical
computing hardware in secure and
temperature controlled environments
away from the user work station, the new
extender extends video, USB 2.0 and
audio along a CAT5e cable for 100m.
Delivered in a zero configuration state,
users can plug the units in and start
working immediately with no drivers or
software needed.
EXHIBITION REVIEW
IP, Streaming & Multi-site
Video Distribution
Up next, AJA Video Systems (www.
aja.com) released KONA IP, the
company's first desktop video and audio
I/O product for professional IP-based
workflows. Supported by industryleading content creation companies like
Avid, Adobe and Grass Valley, the KONA
IP is touted as the next-generation
of AJA's KONA line of PCIe capture
cards. Compatible with SMPTE 2022-6
IP-encapsulated uncompressed 3G-SDI
video, audio and VANC data, the KONA
IP also supports compressed codecs like
J2K and advanced IP protocols including
VSF TR-04, VSF TR-03 and more with
firmware updates.
Building up the IP momentum, Atlona
(www.atlona.com) also introduced a
new line of IP-Based AV distribution
solutions, the OmniStream. Featuring
the industry's first dual-channel 4K/UHD
Encoder and Decoder, the OmniStream
series is designed to integrate and
distribute 4K/UHD video audio, and
RS-232 control over Gigabit Ethernet
networks. The line currently consists of
5 new products which includes: ATOMNI-111 Single-Channel Networked
AV Encoder, AT-OMNI-232 Two-Channel
Dante™ Networked Audio Interface and
many more.
For multi-site video streaming, VITEC
(www.vitec.com) demonstrated
its IPTV Houses of Worship (HoW)
Solution. Helping HoWs to extend
their reach across multiple campuses,
the solution bundles VITEC portable
encoders/decoders with the Zixi™
error-free streaming protocol. When
integrated with Renewed Vision™
ProVideoServer™, the solution also
allows churches to record one or more
high-quality encoded streams from the
main campus, complete with embedded
time code and multi-channel audio, and
play back those streams at the satellite
campus at any time.
Audio over IP pioneer Barix (www.barix.
com) showcased their latest Soundscape
1.1 as part of their emerging business
in the music and advertising delivery
services industry for programmers and
end users. Demonstrated at InfoComm,
Soundscape allows users to manage
business music and audio files remotely.
Targeting mainly chain-store retailers,
Soundscape can be used to craft in-store
BGM, audio advertising messages,
schedule playlists, monitor and distribute
content to multiple sites.
Barix Soundscape 1.1
At the same time, Barix also exhibited
its popular Simple Paging solution
which enables zoned paging and
public address across single or multiple
buildings from fixed paging stations or
mobile devices.
IDX by Harman (http://idx.harman.
com) also announced a major update
to its IDX AirportVoice, AirportVision,
TransitVoice and TransitVision software.
The new 5.0 version features the IDX
Boarding Manager, a new software tool
that functions as a virtual microphone
station. Those looking for a PA/
messaging solution for the transportation
market, might find this intriguing.
Rack Lights & Power Control
Ever had problem locating a certain
cable in a rack cabinet? Usually enclosed
and dark, it does take some time to
figure which goes where... until now!
Middle Atlantic (www.middleatlantic.
com) offers a range of rack mount
lighting and what caught our attention
was the PDLT Series of rack light and
power. Featuring a retractable LED light
for evenly distributed illumination of
the rackmounted equipments, the PDLT
67
Series combines power distribution
and lighting in one space package.
Integrators now no longer have to hold
a torchlight while searching through the
racks!
Middle Atlantic PDLT Series rack light
Furthering its commitment to provide
integrators with robust power
management solutions, Panamax (www.
panamax.com) has introduced all-new
vertical power conditioner with IP control
capabilities, the VT-4315-PRO. Ideal
for commercial integrators looking for
remote power management functionality,
the VT-4315-PRO features BlueBOLT
IP control technology and Panamax’s
exclusive Protect-or-Disconnect surge
protection as well as Automatic Voltage
Monitoring (AVM) over/under voltage
protection.
More on remote power control, leading
manufacturer of AC power control
systems for performance lighting, audio
and video LynTec (www.lyntec.com)
also announced several new updates
for its LynTec RPC. Featuring “one
touch” remote system control, LynTec
now offers individual or grouped circuit
breaker on/off control and monitoring
through a web browser interface. Great
for large A/V systems and theatrical
lighting control, single or multi-panel
systems that utilize motorized circuit
breakers will now be able to provide
control and circuit protection in the same
enclosure.
www.infocommshow.org
InfoComm 2017 will return on June
10-16, 2017, at the Orange County
Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
68
EXHIBITION REVIEW
CommunicAsia2016, EnterpriseIT2016 and BroadcastAsia2016
Pursues The Industry with a View of the Future
Asia’s leading infocomm technology and broadcasting industry event gathers leading innovators
to showcase and discuss the latest trends.
R
obots, Virtual Reality, Drones,
and Smart Devices – these are
the innovations fueled by digital
transformation that will pave the way
of Asia Pacific’s future. With digitisation
and smart technologies enhancing
productivity, these innovations also
formed the heart of CommunicAsia2016,
EnterpriseIT2016 and BroadcastAsia2016
which ran between 31 May to 3 June
2016, at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
Overheard at Visionary
Keynote
Revving up the heat was a visionary
address by Gerd Leonhard, Futurist and
Founder and CEO of The
Future Agency. During his
visionary keynote titled
'The Next 5 years in Global
Digital Transformation',
Gerd shared his thoughts
on how the 'increasingly
powerful combination of
man and machine' has
enabled technologies
such as real-time language
translation and how these
technologies will continue
to grow and influence our lifestyles.
“(These) machines sits in the cloud (and)
does all the work for you,” he said.
Continuing, Gerd also touched on how
Intelligent Digital Assistant, or IDA,
are slowly gaining a foothold in our
lives. These IDAs such as Apple's Siri,
Amazon's Echo/Alexa – are examples
of virtual assistants who are able to
recognize natural speech and respond
logically. In time, we are going to find
more of such technologies implemented
in various ways. Think the movie Her.
“We are actually building
relationships with screens,
not with people – and that's
a strange thing.” - Gerd
Leonhard
EXHIBITION REVIEW
On The Show Floor
So what caught our eye? Over at
BroadcastAsia, Sennheiser (http://
en-sg.sennheiser.com) showcased
their latest inconspicuous clip-on
microphones and rugged handhelds.
The audio major also teased visitors
with a sneak preview of the latest 3D
audio technology, AMBEO. Shown for
the first time in Asia, the AMBEO series
of virtual-reality microphone allow users
to fully experience 360-degree content
using immersive audio. The experiential
showcase at BCA was an eye-opener for
many and visitors have reported that the
depth and accuracy were astonishingly
life-like. The series is expected to launch
in Q4 2016.
Sennheiser
In the same hall, IHSE (www.ihse.com)
also made an appearance with the
Asia debut of the latest Series 490.
Featuring a new generation of digital
KVM signal extension using the
innovative Lightweight Image (LICI)
codec – developed in cooperation
with Fraunhofer IIS – the DRACO Ultra
DisplayPort-KVM enables the operation
of CPUs from a remotely located
workstation including DisplayPort
monitor, keyboard and pointing device
over a single fibre XV connection.
The KVM extender also supports
audio transmission via the DisplayPort
interface.
cinematography that targets various
verticals including education, corporate,
house of worship and high-end sports.
A key highlight at Sony booth was the
demonstration of the 55-inch 4K OLED
monitor, PVM-X550LED.
Designed for viewing and verifying 4K
footage during production, the quadview OLED monitor allows customized
individual display settings across four
distinct views in HD, including: ElectroOptical Transfer Function (EOTF),
Color space, Transfer Matrix and colour
temperature. Equipped with a highperformance signal-processing engine,
the PVM-X550LED provides a 12-bit
output signal for picture accuracy and
consistency. Its narrow bezel, lightweight
design and off-axis viewing performance
also makes suitable for wall mounting, a
benefit in environments where space is
at a premium.
At the same time, several familiar ProAV
names were also spotted at BCA.
They include: Guntermann & Drunck
GmbH (G&D); Blackmagic Design;
Riedel; SiliconCore; Panasonic; and
d3 Technologies, who, together with
Acoustic & Lighting Systems - their
official reseller in Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand and Indonesia – presented
the d3 4×4pro with Quad-DVI video
conversion cards, the small but powerful
d3 2×2plus as well as the latest d3 r13
software.
Christie (www.christiedigital.com) was
also seen exhibiting with their valued
partner, Total Solutions Marketing.
IHSE
Next, we have Sony Professional (http://
pro.sony-asia.com) who showcased a
range of broadcast solutions from IP
Live production workflow to HD/4K/HDR
Christie at Total Solutions Marketing booth
69
Exhibited at the show was the awardwinning Christie Boxer 4K30 3DLP®
projector and Christie H Series 1DLP®
projectors, where they are deployed
to present an eye-catching projection
mapping showcase that is driven by
the Christie Pandoras Box media server
system.
Fans of Electro-Voice (www.
electrovoice.com) were in for a pleasant
surprise as the proaudio manufacturer
announced a remake of its renowned N/
DYM Series. Named ND Series, the new
product line currently consists of four
vocal and four instrumental models for
live performance and studio application.
At the heart of the new dynamic models
is a new large-diaphragm capsule
design which takes the technology of
the original N/Dym capsule to new
levels of sonic performance. Combined
with innovative mechanical solutions
that resolve typical instrument mic
placement challenge, sound engineers
and musicians also benefit from an easy
set-up.
www.VisualAsiaExpo.com
EXHIBITION REVIEW
Moving on, RTS (www.rtsintercoms.
com) showcased its latest model in the
KP-Series, the KP-3016. Taking up only
1 RU space, the KP-3016 comes with 16
keys and supports both analog and IP
connection. Featuring built-in speaker;
microphone input for dynamic or electret
mics; and a wide viewing-angle color
screen, it is also fully compatible with
OMNEO, an open media networking
architecture developed by Bosch.
Also on live production, KXWELL (www.
kxwell.com) was also spotted at the
show along with their wide array of high
performance indoor and outdoor pan-tilt
robotic heads. A reputed manufacturer
that provides Pan Tilt Head with camera
control system solution to end-users in
AV, Professional Broadcast Industry and
High-End Surveillance Security, KXWELL
solutions can be found in projects
and venues such as live production,
parliament house, theatres, video
conference rooms, distance teaching
system, hospital demonstrate operation
system, court trial system, prison
surveillance system etc.
Compatible with most professional and
broadcast handheld camcorder, box
camera and shoulder mount, KXWELL
highlighted several solutions at BCA that
include: the KT-PN695 Series, a high
performance outdoor camera pan-tilt
head; the KT-RN8810-JZ and KT-PN690.
71
Dell also took the opportunity to
introduce a new, recommended
minimum system hardware
configurations that support optimal VR
experience for professional users with
HTC Vive or Oculus Rift VR solutions.
At the same time, Dell also announced
upgrades for its Precision Tower and
Rack Workstations for VR content
creators who are using professional
applications in fields of engineering,
science, energy, and entertainment.
Making its show debut at BCA was
South China House of Technology
(www.schot.com/en/). Known to many
as SCHOT, the Hong Kong-based
leading audio visual & central control
product and solution specialist brought
with them proAV solutions from familiar
names like Atlona and Olevia.
Over at CommunicAsia2016, Dell
(www.dell.com.sg) intrigued attendees
as the leading IT company launches
new Virtual Reality-ready solutions
that refined criteria for optimal VR
experience, whether it is for consuming
or creating VR content. Together their
hardware and software partners, Dell
showcased impressive VR content with
the demonstration of a multi-dimensional
experience ride titled Cry Out: The
Lonely Whale Experience.
KXWELL at BCA 2016
Also present at CommunicAsia2016
was Cisco (www.cisco.com), though
its hospitality was only extended to
invited guests. At its hospitality suite,
Cisco showcased a number of video
services such as the Infinite Solutions
that help service providers/broadcaster/
media companies to deliver content
via cloud on any access network. Other
solutions on demonstrated include Cisco
Virtualized Video Processing and Cisco
VideoGuard solutions.
Editor's note: In 2017, the 3-day
Broadcast Asia show will be moving to
Suntec Singapore while CommunicAsia
and EnterpriseIT2017 will continue to
take place at Marina Bay Sands. Shuttle
buses will ply between Suntec Singapore
and Marina Bay Sands.
72
INSTALLATIONS
HONG KONG
Exterity IP Video Facilitates Decision-making At
Bank of China
Keeping Track Of Financial Trends And Regulations In Real-Time
L
ocated in Hong Kong, the Bank of China (Hong Kong)
is the second largest commercial banking group on the
peninsula, with the biggest branch network of over 300
branches. The bank currently employs 13,900 staff covering
a wide range of areas, from personal and corporate banking
through to life and casualty insurance, as well as asset
management.
The Challenge
The world’s economy is moving at lightning speed, with unseen
market fluctuations and bubbles happening at any minute.
With China at the centre of the financial world, Bank of China
(Hong Kong) knew that in order to maintain the highest level of
services, it needed to provide its staff with the best means to
evaluate transaction risks and keep track of the latest financial
trends and regulations in real-time.
The Solution
Bank of China (Hong Kong) was planning a refurbishment of its
headquarters and decided to implement an Exterity IP video
solution to facilitate the live streaming of financial channels in
HD, including CNN, BBC World News, Bloomberg and CNCB
to multiple screens around the building, as well as to the
bankers’ PCs.
Working closely with leading integrator, Tech Vision System
Limited (TVS), Exterity provided the banking group with a
robust, adaptable and user-friendly IP video solution that easily
integrates with the group’s IT network to o er the best quality
of service without requiring additional cabling. In addition,
the system can be managed from any point of the network,
enabling the technical team to monitor authorizations and
distribution of content to each screen.
Ongoing support from Exterity and TVS has also enabled
the technical team at Bank of China (Hong Kong) to utilise
the system in the most effective way, ensuring the consistent
delivery of relevant information to each department.
PROJECT FACTFILE
Client: Bank of China (Hong Kong)
Segment: Banking/Financial
Location: Hong Kong
System Integrator: Tech Vision System Limited (TVS)
Task: To facilitate the live streaming of financial channels
in HD, including CNN, BBC World News, Bloomberg and
CNBC to multiple screens.
Solution Highlight: Exterity HD Encoders, Receiver settop boxes, AvediaServer
INSTALLATIONS
73
The Result
The Exterity system is used on a daily basis throughout
the building, enabling bankers to receive relevant financial
feeds directly at their desks, while ensuring that information
impacting the whole group is distributed to screens in public
areas, including a video wall.
“The Bank of China (Hong Kong) works very closely with its
parent company, Bank of China, who is considered the world’s
fifth largest bank according to market valuation. This means
that it needs to ensure that it is always one step ahead of the
global economy in order to best service its corporate and
personal customers,” said Gary Fu, Operation Director, Tech
Vision System Limited.
“The Exterity system provides the employees
of Bank of China (Hong Kong) with an
easy way to access relevant information in
real-time, enabling them to make the best
decision at any given moment.”
Colin Farquhar, CEO at Exterity, added: “Large banking groups
are under tight pressure from the market, and need to know
that they can rely on their information systems to decide on
the best course of action at any minute. Being able to support
a world leading group like Bank of China (Hong Kong) in this
difficult mission shows how reliable and easily manageable the
Exterity system is, and we’re looking forward to continuing our
collaboration with one of the world’s most influential banking
organizations.”
www.exterity.com
Interact with Pro AV
Unmatched quality, flexibility and interactivity with Draco KVM systems
576
576 Port KVM Matrix
Non-blocking | modular | flexible
Cat X | Fiber | 3G-SDI support
4K/60 Hz DisplayPort Extender
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Unlimited matrix support @ 60 Hz
IHSE GmbH - Headquarters
IHSE GmbH Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
IHSE USA LLC
Maybachstrasse 11
88094 Oberteuringen
158 Kallang Way #07-13A
Singapore 349245
1 Corporate Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512

Germany

USA
www.ihse.com
[email protected]
74
INSTALLATIONS
INDIA
Helping StartUps With Creative Technology
By Ram Bhavanashi
EnE Systems, Invincy weave in AV innovation at Kstart set-up for Kalaari
FACT FILE
Project Name: KStart
Project Location: ITPL, Whitefield, Bengaluru
Project Segment: Venture Capital
Project Owner: Kalaari Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd
Project Type: Design-build AV, lighting systems
AV Consultant: EnE Systems India
AV Systems Integrator: EnE Systems Integrator
AV Programming Services: Invincy Solutions
Lighting Consultant: Sreekumar Gopinathan (Poncho)/(EnE Systems India)
Achitect: Sunitha Kondur, Hundredhands Design
Curator: Raghava KK
Project Commissioned: Feb 2016
Venture Capitalism is nothing new. Neither is VCs’ leveraging technology to further their business cause. What’s new, perhaps, is
a VC’s embracing AV technology with a blend of art and creative ‘elements’ to stimulate the entrepreneurial ingenuity among the
promising young.
Bengaluru-based startups promoting firm KStart – a unique seed programme initiative of VC services enterprise Kalaari Capital
Advisors – is living this act while EnE Systems India, EnE Singapore’s Indian arm, weaved in the magic in association with a 3D
control systems UI solutions start-up Invincy, besides a host of creative minds. An SI Asia report:
Challenges: “From vision to implementation,
it did take time and mindspace. For the simple
fact that we have only a vision to share and the
solution providers had to come with as stack
of solutions. We needed to figure out what we
could do with what. That’s significant exerciseabout the selection and number of AV units
and their placement. It’s the thought processes
that mattered.
Experience: We are extremely happy about
the quality of the SI work done; the kind of
support they had been giving us. I guess
Poncho has been a great find for us.”- Karthik
Nageshwaran, CFO, Kstart
T
he Park Square Mall, just
adjacent to International
Tech Pack Limited (ITPL)
on the Whitefield Main Road in
Bengaluru, might look similar
to most other shopping dining
destinations in town, but, perhaps,
one entity strikes a difference,
for ‘StartUps!’ Yes, Kstart – a
unique seed programme initiative
of Venture Capital Services firm
Kalaari Capital Advisors Limited
– occupying a good portion of
the mall’s second floor, is a truly
different proposition for reasons
more than one. The company’s
Karthik Nageshwaran
business area, the approach it took
in that pursuit, the environment it created for the purpose, and
the genre it strikes thereof.
INSTALLATIONS
75
“We wanted to create a space where the best of
entrepreneurial minds are allowed to seed and shape their
business ideations in the best stimulating environment; a space
that will kindle the innovative genius of young entrepreneurs
that stand to create next big companies in the country; a space
that can provide that additional impetus to the thinking minds
to innovate better,” explains Karthik Nageshwaran, CFO at
Kstart. “We wanted to create an ambience that is a blend
of Indianness, its philosophical depth in the form of art, and
technology to make the experience as stimulants to germinate
and nurture innovative ideas.”
To the right of the Lobby, are the Board Room, Work Space,
Executive Rooms, and Mezzanine Floors, while to the left of
the Lobby space are the Cafeteria and Gym, and Events Space.
While every space has been carved with a meticulous design
and art impartation, with an AV technology underlay, it is the
Board Room, and the Events Space that exemplify the most.
The Teams Involved
The Board Room
Being a very unique concept in its own right, Kstart, by default
required a team of solution providers. Bengaluru-based design
firm Hundredhands Design was taken onboard for the art
and architectural planning, the task of technology design and
integration was entrusted to EnE Systems India.
EnE India’s Executive Director Srikumar Gopinathan (Poncho),
who played central to the technology design, had the
collaborative support from yet another Bengaluru-based
multimedia and AV programming StartUp Invincy Solutions,
who actually stepped in like a VAD (value-added distributor),
but had a bigger role to play.
“The functionality part was more defined by the architect,
while the control requirement and interfacing was by the
client” clarifies Poncho. “We essentially designed the AV,
control, and lighting systems.”
Kstart: Start with Art
Upfront, one would feel stepping into a sort of a design studio,
or a corporate office of a design firm, with typified art forms of
diverse size, shape and appeal, imposing that ‘different’ feel.
The Lobby space sports a ‘reflect’ themed art form in 72 x 96
inch art in mirror and wood by Shilo Shiv Suleman.
The Board Room ambience is characterized by a huge diptych
acrylic on canvas, that is made to glow intelligently by a
combination of some cleaver lighting scheme and soft ambient
colour theme that is also accentuated by large tinted glass
windows on the facing side. The emphasis here, as per the
creators is that ‘collaboration can create order out of chaos'.
The AV texture here features a Cisco video-conferencing
system that is complemented by two displays on the facing
wall, above the camera, and six boundary microphones on a
12-seater rectangular table.
The Control System and its GUI here is, perhaps, fitting in with
the spirit of innovation at the Kstart in that, it apparently raises
above the conventional. Developed based on AMX hardware
platform, the solution seeks to create an impact in more ways
than one.
Claimed to be the ‘first of its kind,’ at least in this part of the
world, the solution not only presents a dynamic 3D userinterfacing, but also renders it in a matrix of colourful and
thematic presentation right up from start. Different functional
buttons are weaved in soft and vibrant floral patterns making
a pleasing screen appearance. This UI is also operable on iPAD
and similar devises.
76
INSTALLATIONS
The Stage of the Events Space
“We have seen numerous control systems and GUIs, nothing
new about them,” says Hemanth K Naidu, Director at the
Invincy. “This one, take the experience to an altogether new
level,” he vouches. “We have not only developed it to operate
in 3D mode, but we have also customized it in a significant
fashion,” he elaboarates. “The GUI is no longer drab and
boring combination of buttons; we made it breath life.”
The functional beauty of the solution, according to Invincy
Director is that it addresses and activates each of the devices
in the given environment as the case may be, the backdrop of
multimedia affects.
Events Space
The experience of the AV and GUI expertise as well as the
accentuation of artistic creativity is apparently further elevated
in the Events Space, an expansive space on the left of the
Lobby. Meant for a sizeable gathering of around 300 people,
with a stage on one end, and a stepped up seating area at the
other, the Events Space strikes many refreshing elements, both
in structure and texture. Most prominent is the huge, mixed
media artwork, measuring 294 x 96 inches in wood, done by
Raghava KK and Shilo Shiv Suleman. Themed Re-silient the art
form seeks to exemplify resilience with entrepreneurism.
There are three more art formats at three different corners of
this large hall. Each of them is unique in its own right, striking
a creative element or two. “Yes,” chips in the Karthik. “We
have created elements that help the participants sharpen their
creativity, and innovate on their business ideas.”
Technology wise, it’s a markedly big play space for EnE and
Invincy. While Poncho and team brought in their ingenuity
for design and build of the audio, video and lighting systems,
Invincy explored the Control System GUI arc to render it more
user-involving.
“We created a 3-D User Interface which
resembles the actual replication of the
space, and its AV equipment gear,” explains
Naidu. “This allows users to operate the
system intuitively without having to get
bothered with a complex multi-page, icon-
INSTALLATIONS
Cafeteria- work as you relish beverages & snakcs
77
Workstatations
based UI which is a common fare with traditional UIs.”
According to him, the newly custom-developed UI brings in
many immersive experiences. One of the advantages as Naidu
demonstrates is to tilt or turn the cameras, or wall-mounted
display screens on either side of the hall to the direction
required. “This is to better present the stage or audience
scenario to the viewers,” Naidu details.
In addition to the two wall-mount displays, the Events Space
features two more displays in front of the stage, and one large
motorized screen on the stage, programmed to deliver diverse
functions of showing audience, speakers on the stage, and
the ambience. Facing the large screen on stage is a ceilingmounted DLP projector. The audio element is characterized by
two hangs of two JBL loudspeakers hung from the ceiling on
either side of the stage, and two sub-woofers placed on the
floor, in front of the stage.
“We decided to give the stage a theatrical look,” explains
Poncho. “Which is why there a backdrop wall design and
lighting, and so much stage setting, and special lighting gridboth to the ceiling of the hall, and in front to the screen,” he
details. According to him, they did the audio install to precision
– without any acoustics – more, they automated the entire
audio solution across the premises, by means of an iPAD.
The Events Space is also equipped with multimedia and
video streaming architecture, so that the programming of the
space can be simulcast to the spaces across the premises.
That facilitates the entrepreneurs watch the proceedings of
the Events Space without having to move from their seats
elsewhere on the premises.
“We also wanted the system to be scalable and futuristic in
that whatever technologies that come in future that would add
value to our business, should simply be plugged and played,”
comes in the input from Karthik.
The Work Space
The Work Space is an expansive space characterized by
multiple work stations – each capable of functioning like
a mini office – fully equipped with the required technical
infrastructure. Facing the entire Work Space is a ceiling
mounted display that is meant to show the proceedings
happening at the Events Space. Young and aspiring
entrepreneurs can function from these workstations exploring
The mezzanine floor- relax, rewind and rejuvenate
their business innovation horizons, and putting them into
action.
“The aspiring entrepreneurs coming here do not need to worry
on anything that they do not know,” informs the Kstart CFO.
“We have a sizeable team of experts on various subjects and
business domains,” he explains, “They will come here; share
their expertise with the young brains towards sharpening those
ideas and help them come alive. The subject matters can be
diverse. We are there to provide them thought processes.”
Ingenuity of space planning finds yet another expression with
one side of the Work Space expanding into Mezzanine floor
which is a long and slender space, provided with separated
‘Re’laxing enclaves. Each of the enclaves is characterized by
one art form- based on human organs such as heart, lungs,
hand and feet etc.
“This is something where one can relax, meditate and
rejuvenate oneself, after a tiring day of work; we know often
bright ideas are born that way” explains Karthik. “Even as
it offers cool relaxation we made his area into a thoughtprovoking ambience.”
“We didn’t do anything strange; just audio-video, and lighting,
with a blend of art,” the Kstart CFO elaborates further. “We
wanted do it in a different way that contributes to creativity
and inventiveness among the aspiring entrepreneurs.”
www.kstart.in
www.enesystemsindia.com
www.invincy.com
78
INSTALLATIONS
SINGAPORE
Maritime Simulation Sails Smooth With Digital Projection
Digital Projection Projectors Boost Quality Of Simulated Training
PROJECT FACTFILE
Client: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Project Venue: Integrated Simulation Centre of Singapore
Segment: Government, Training & Education
Location: Singapore
System Integrator: Kongsberg Maritime Pte. Ltd.
Task: To replace existing old lamp projectors with new laser
projectors that reduces operational cost and maintenance.
Solution Highlight: Digital Projection HIGHlite Laser 11K
projectors
S
et up by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of
Singapore to boost the quality and efficiency of maritime
training, the Integrated Simulation Centre (ISC) offers
different realistic scenarios for training of ship officers and crew
in a risk-free environment.
Established in 2002, the ISC has garnered a strong reputation
in the region for providing world-class quality marine simulatorbased training. From ship owners to maritime companies, the
facilities at ISC are frequently booked for crew training.
Among its array of simulators, the Full Mission Shiphandling
Simulators (FMSS) are two important bridge simulators
located within the ISC. Offering 360-degree or 240-degree
field-of-view, the simulators are developed and maintained
by Kongsberg Maritime, a leading international technology
provider that supplies maritime systems and solutions.
Kongsberg is also one of ISC's key technology suppliers.
Using state-of-the-art computer-generated images generated
by the Polaris Ship's Bridge Simulator software (developed
by Kongsberg) and high brightness projectors, the resulting
visuals are life-like and interactive.
Captains, 1st and 2nd Officers, Pilot Cadets as well as
Seafarers undertaking their Certificate of Competency are
some of the end-users who used the simulator to train/test
their manoeuvrability skills in a simulated environment that is
close to reality.
How It Came About
Being a highly sought-after facility for maritime training,
the FMSSs have been subjected to long hours of operation
since it was launched. According to Rico Sim, Assistant Sales
Manager of Digital Projection Asia, the FMSSs were clocking
approximately 10-12 operation hours per day for about 300
days each year.
INSTALLATIONS
79
Digital Projection team worked very closely with Kongsberg to
ensure they deliver what the client wanted to achieve.
A total of 10 HIGHlite Laser 11K projectors were installed for
the 360-degree FMSS while the 240-degree FMSS needed only
7. Some key features of the HIGHlite Laser 11K include flexible
mounting orientation and built-in edge blend – which was
essential for the wide angle visuals.
Equally compelling is the lack of lamp replacement due to the
solid state illumination system. This is a key characteristic that
gives HIGHlite Laser 11K a much lower cost of ownership over
the lifespan of the projector. This was a key factor that was
considered by ISC, after having experienced high maintenance
cost of using lamp-based projectors for long hours operation.
Due to its high usage, it is no wonder that the FMSS existing
lamp-based projectors were unable to take the toll, and that
had resulted the centre having to change lamps frequently at
every 6-9 months interval.
High cost and maintenance was a key concern for ISC as the
replacement lamps are priced at US$1,000 each and they have
to change and replace at least 44 pieces for all the projectors
every time.
Furthermore, for every lamp replacement, the projectors were
moved in the process and this caused its alignment to move,
thus affecting the view angle and edge blending in place.
Colour recalibration to ensure the uniformity across the entire
system was also required. To calibrate it again takes time and
effort was spend which translates to significant downtime.
Therefore when the time came for ISC to upgrade and refit the
two FMSSs, the centre was determined to replace its existing
projectors with what the best they can find in the market.
Digital Projection's Pitch
Relaying their projector requirements to Kongsberg, a tender
committee was set up and Digital Projection went in to
propose the HIGHlite Laser 11K projector. Remarkably bright
at 11,000 lumens, the HIGHlite Laser 11K has a lifespan of
20,000 hours illumination – which met ISC's key requirement.
“Digital Projection is known in the AV industry as one of the
leading brands with the latest visual technology,” said Asraf,
Area Sales Manager, Simulation, of Kongsberg Maritime. “At
that time, there were few if not none with the 3-chip DLP Laser
Technology with 11,000 lumens and ISC has requested for the
best Laser projectors.”
Noting that MPA is particular about its night scene visuals,
Digital Projection and Kongsberg also proposed to add a piece
of optical masking glass in front of the projector to prevent
overspill of light, thereby further enhancing the visuals.
The Solution
Setting up the projectors and tweaking them to deliver the
best images they could took almost a month. During which, the
In terms of financial scope, the project is estimated at S$ 3.4
million dollars.
The Result
After using Digital Projection laser projectors, ISC was able
to cut down their units by using 7 projectors to replace the
previous 9 in the 240-degree FMSS. The 360-degree FMSS also
cut down 2 units, from 12 to 10. Due to its WUXGA resolution,
the Digital Projection projectors gave a wider field-of-view
while providing a seamless edge blending at the same time.
Though the initial investment cost in laser projectors was
increased by 15-20%, the operational cost of using Digital
Projection projector was reduced significantly. The FMSS is
also one of the first ship bridge simulators in Asia to use laser
projectors to produce visuals.
“I am pleased as well as in awe of the level of realism of the
visual scenes. It matches ISC's reputation as a World Class
Training and Assessment Facility,” commented Asraf.
Capt Loo, Manager at ISC, was also satisfied with the new
projectors. He remarked, “I think Digital Projection has a good
product and its after-sales services is excellent. The visual data
was fantastic.”
www.digitalprojection.com
80
INSTALLATIONS
NCSM Science City - Part-II
The ‘Digital Panorama’ of Life and Tech Wizardry’
Fusion of minds and machines to showcase human evolution
By Ram Bhavanashi
The Digital Panorama at the Science City in Kolkata, like most other ambitious installs, is a fruition of a massive ‘continental
effort’ in that it involved fusion of human talent and technology from three distant geographies- India, United Kingdom, and
South Africa. While there were no pressing timelines in this case – quite unlike the most of its scale – it does have its own set of
formative factors that are as exciting as any other project of its kind.
Having presented the vital aspects of the install as Part-I of the story in the last issue, SI ASIA now presents the remaining account
of what all made it, in this second and concluding part of the exclusive.
T
he story of Digital Panorama at the Science City in
Kolkata begins with the NCSM (National Council of
Science Museums)’s wanting to create a captivating
model of story-telling on human evolution, by leveraging
latest digital technology. Being the apex and promoting
body of science museums in the country, it is tasked by its
instrumentation with setting up of centres to spread scientific
temper amongst people, and the ideation of Digital Panorama
is part of the same pursuit.
Having already built ‘India’s first giant screen (Imax large format
screen at Space Theatre) almost 20 years ago, followed by the
Kurukshetra Panorama, it was perhaps natural for the apex
science body’s seeking to elevate its scientific exploit further
with digital technology.
“The concept of panorama is nothing new for us; we did it
earlier,” informs A D Choudhry, Director of NCSM. “We did it
at Kurukshetra; but that was the conventional type. At Science
City-Kolkata, we wanted to do it in digital format, with state-ofthe-art sophistication.”
Multi-tasking: On & Off-Site
That set the ball rolling- a Committee was set up with subject
experts from academia and R&D institutions as well as Ministry
of Culture, followed by hiring solution providers.
VizExperts, who came onboard as the chief solution provider,
had to a multi-tasking job, according to Nehruji Srimurugan,
producer with the Delhi-based visual computing enterprisetechnical leadership for the Digital Panorama, content creation,
AV integration, acoustic design and installation, and lighting
system design.
INSTALLATIONS
That meant they had, essentially, two broad categories of task.
One- design-build of AV set-up on the site, and two- ensuring
the required content was produced and beamed as per the
specs. That it had in-house expertise and team strengths for
AV design-build, it didn’t have much to worry on that, but the
content production part which it needed support. It, thus, had
to have a content production team in place, and play a perfect
coordinator between content subject matter experts and
production teams on one side, and Experts Committee, and
NCSM leadership on the other.
“We partnered with Graham English &
Co. for the purpose,” informs Nehru.
“We reached out to Prof. Chris Stringer
too in that pursuit,” he explains. After
initial briefing in Kolkata, and a series of
deeper deliberations on what and how it
was to be made, they had a storyline and
template to work on.
Graham English, Creative Director at the company, worked
with scriptwriter Mark Gamon (representing Prof. Stringer) to
develop the storyline that, given the nature of the audience,
was to be both simple and succinct. “Once that was agreed
with Science City, we created a storyboard, frame for frame,”
Graham recalled. “This process allowed Science City to
comment on the content, and to amend it as they felt fit, at
each progressive stage. Once agreed, the storyboard became
'the blueprint' for the whole production.”
Graham, and his producer Simone Meyer traveled to South
Africa, close to The Cradle of Mankind, and supported by local
production manager Mario Le Grange, did an extensive recce
to identify locations that best matched the storyboard frames.
81
They, however, had the big challenge when they actually began
the shoot. They needed as many pixels as possible in order to
extract a horizontal ’slice’ from the 16 x 9 frame. Working with
their Director of Photography Owen Dell they settled on Red
Rocket camera filming with 6K at 25fps. However, they had to
reduce the resolution to 4K to over-crank the camera to enable
delivery in slow motion.
“Creating life-like prosthetics for human species had its own
pull,” recalls Nehru. “That it was turning extremely expensive
was one, getting them to our requirement was the other,” he
explains, “we contacted a highly skilled local; procured the
prosthetics and customized.”
The Indian part of the shooting (in Mathura, Gurgaon,
and Delhi) was handled by Graham’s local production
representative Gautam Subramanyam, who according to
Nehru did as fantastic job as his British colleague. Once
Graham and co. was done with the shoot, the CGI (computer
graphic imagery) team was put on the act to impart the rushes
with VFX enabling the final production that VizExperts was
challenged with delivering onto the huge canvas.
“It was a truly international production,” commends Graham.
“An Indian client, Indian systems integrator, production
manager; a European producer, creative director, and
composer; and a South African cast and crew. We certainly
clocked up the air miles, but I’d like to think we clocked them
up for the right reasons.”
Prof. Stringer, the globally respected anthropologist, closely
monitored each of these processes, as well as the creation of
‘early years of human evolution’ as CGI. According to him, the
job came with its own challenges in that they had to compress
82
INSTALLATIONS
“It took us a fair deal to impart foolproof acoustics to the site,”
recalls Diwaker Gaur, Senior Consultant with VixExperts. “The
Reverb Time on site was >6 when we moved in; we brought it
down to an average of 1.3 post install,” he explains.
To treat the ceiling, they first had to create a baffle wall with
acoustical tiles with polyester wool and fabric, and then
employ bass tubes – 18 numbers, each measuring 1200/4800
mm – comprising wooden framework, polyester wool, and
covered with fabric by means of grippers.
the ‘big subject’ to a manageable length. Devising convincing
recreations of various pre-human and human species and
ensuring that the story accurately represented current
anthropological thinking was a challenge too.
“It was Mark Gamon’s task to distill the story down to the
eventual running time - ensuring an engaging experience for
the visitor without ‘dumbing down’ the academic content,”
Prof. Stringer commends Gamon’s contribution.
On-Site: Transforming Shell to Scale
VizExperts, while ensuring that they had an absorbing
content in place from offsite, had to address a different set of
challenges on site, the cylindrical shell of panorama. What they
got was an empty shell that sounded like a whispering gallery,
requiring massive acoustic treatment. They had to build the
canopy, with precision-mounting structure that could take the
weight of as many as eight DLP projectors (Barco’s HDX W20
Flex), as well as the Surround Sound system (Harman/JBL).
“If we consider the length from pillar to wall as 100 per cent,
then each 25 per cent was to be covered in different angles,”
explains Gaur “first was flat to the floor, next was 15° and then
30° and then it 45° tilt. The portions left in between the tiles
and the pillar were to be flat again.”
The central pillar was also covered with GI framework, with
polyester wool, fabric with gripper.
Done with acoustics, they had
to treat the cylindrical wall
to optimize it for projection
mapping surface, using
multiple coats of Screen Goo
paint. “It took as much as 330
liters of paint,” recalls Diwakar,
“and we had to use airless
sprayers to obtain a perfect
surface.”
“The Digital Panorama project
is by far the biggest project
INSTALLATIONS
83
in this region,” informs Anil Vemulapalli, Direector at Reverb
Systems India, the Indian partner of the Singapore-based
supplier of the paint solution. “It was a very intelligent decision
on part of the project team,” compliments Anil. “Screen Goo
paint was the perfect way to go; if the same surface, stretching
over 1200 square meters, was to be treated by some other
means of conventional screens, it would have costed an
astronomical amount.”
So, in all, close to 1300 square meters of ceiling, 157 sqm
of pillars, and 228 sqm of floor were treated with precision
acoustics.
Stuart Bruce, the composer, balancing the audio on site
The AV Set-up
The audio component comprised an all-Harman system. A
total of 24 JBL Control 25AVs, six units of EON305s, and three
units of Control SB210 subwoofers went into the site. Four
units of Control25AVs, two units of Eon305s, and one unit of
SB210 were installed on the ground, in front of the audience,
but concealed behind the mannequins.
As many as 12 units of Control25s went into ceiling- four in
each section, two each on rear, left, and right. These speakers
and subs were powered by three units of CrownDCI600 and
800 amps, and driven by one unit of DSP BSS blu100, and two
BOB outputs.
Graham on the location
The entire audio was to be controlled by an AMX2200 panel,
while Surface Pro-3 was incorporated to control projectors,
lights and playback.
The audio, however, also included two goosenecks and two
wireless lapel microphones from Shure.
“The most challenging was the projectors install on the
canopy,” recalls Diwakar. “The height of canopy was over 10
feet, and the projectors are heavy and bulky,” that made the
mounting very challenging,” he says, “the wall surface being
curved in 3600, aligning the projectors with it optically was a
big challenge.”
“That was a potential challenge in itself- achieving complete
360° seamless visualization,” value-adds Nehru. “We previously
did up to 160°; to be able do it for 360° seamlessly was a
challenge, particularly blending the first and last projectors. It
requires a high degree of customization, which we did.”
VizExperts, and their creative partners have apparently spent
a fairly good time on drawing board for the content to be
played on 360°.
The Final Test: Projected Glory
Done with the content, and the site, the baited breaths were
to be eased out in sighs of achievement when the cylindrical
wall and the diorama was turned into an anthropological
journey route.
Photo taken on site: a member of the archaeological team
“It utilised an extreme widescreen format that allowed us to
recreate the landscapes and environment of the prehistoric
world convincingly,” felt Prof. Stringer. The view is endorsed
by Graham: “It is delivered at an unprecedented scale; one
that I believe pushed the capabilities of existing, affordable,
technology to the very limit.”
For Choudhry, the whole panorama as a composite fair has
come out good. That the whole floor is filled with mannequins,
with proper integration merging with the background was
pretty engaging. Says the NCSM Director: “The whole work
on show engages the visitors in a technology journey, in an
immersive environment.”
www.vizexperts.com
www.englishandco.com
www.thecreatureshop.co.za
www.barco.com
www.harman.com
www.goosystemsglobal.com
www.ncsm.gov.in
84
INSTALLATIONS
SINGAPORE
Zytronic Finds Its Way to Marina Bay Sands Singapore
PCT™ Touch Sensors For Touchscreen Directory
PROJECT FACTFILE
Client: The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Segment: Retail, Commercial
Location: Singapore
System Integrator: Abuzz
Task: To install a new way-finding solution that
enhances shoppers' experience.
Solution Highlight: Abuzz Landmark Directory (KLMK
2000) featuring Zytronic PCT touchscreen and ZXY110
touch controller.
A
leading destination for business, leisure and
entertainment in Asia, Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is
located in the heart of Singapore's Central Business
District. Featuring large and flexible convention and exhibition
facilities, 2,560 hotel rooms and suites, rooftop Sands
SkyPark, and outdoor event plaza, MBS also often play host to
permanent and marquee exhibitions at its ArtScience museum.
Together with their world-class shopping mall that houses
over 300 retail stores, celebrity chef restaurants, and theatres,
it is no wonder MBS needed a robust way-finding solution to
enhance its visitors’ experience.
Engaging the help of global digital way-finding specialist
Abuzz, Marina Bay Sand recently find themselves installing one
of the most advanced PCT™ (Projected Capacitive Technology)
touch sensors for their directory system.
The Goal
The key objective for the MBS way-finding project was
to provide a better shopping experience for shoppers.
Though the shopping mall had an existing interactive
directory installed, the client was not satisfied with its current
performance as the system had a number of issues which
resulted in poor user experience and did not support the MBS
brand. Hence, Abuzz was invited by The Shoppes at Marina
Bay Sands to develop and implement 29 new way-finding
points.
Having build a reputation for installing high quality way-finding
solutions in top retail malls and resorts across Asia Pacific
that includes the ION Orchard, Abuzz proposed its popular
Landmark touchscreen directory (Model KLMK 2000) that uses
Zytronic PCT™ touch screens as a key component.
The Solution
Customised to meet the MBS brief, the Abuzz Landmark
touchscreen directory was chosen as the hardware component
of the solution. Its low form factor provide customers with a
clear line of sight within the mall, ensuring stores and mall
features are not obstructed by the directory.
The Abuzz directories feature 40” landscape Zytronic
touchscreens which are driven by the new ZXY110 touch
INSTALLATIONS
85
controller. The controller provides enhanced performance such
as better immunity against electrical noise in the environment
and the ability to dynamically retunes itself to avoid
degradation due to emissions from mobile phones and nearby
electronic devices.
“The modern curves and minimalist design of
the Landmark draws attention to the screen
content, allowing customers to focus on the
directory information and brilliant media.”
Although the directories seemed large externally, there is
in fact only very limited space within and the ZXY110 board
is ideally compact to fit in. The fact that the controller is
offered with native Windows device drivers was also an added
advantage as it simplifies integration.
Having to deal with the extensive natural light at the
shopping mall was a key challenge in this project. As the mall
architecture uses a great number of glass walls and ceilings,
ambient sunlight was evident during the day. To reduce the
impact of direct and indirect sunlight on the readability of
the displays, Abuzz worked with Zytronics to come up with a
suitable solution.
To bring all these elements together in Sydney before shipping
to Singapore would have added a great deal of cost so
Abuzz decided to bring the components together on site in
Singapore for assembly. To allow the units to be assembled
quickly and easily, the touch assemblies needed an acrylic
frame with bonded clips to hold the electronics, and fasten
directly to the metal frame. Zytronic was able to produce this
in Newcastle, which entailed shipping the screens in specially
designed cases.
“Together we identified a combination of an anti-glare glass
surface treatment and anti-reflective rear film to ensure
the high definition display remained readable even under
the Singapore midday sun,” said Nicholas Colditz, Product
Manager, Abuzz Solutions.
The supply chain worked perfectly. Paul Pettersen, Operations
Manager of Abuzz, remarked, “Every single one of the units
supplied by Zytronic fitted perfectly into the supporting
metalwork, and performed completely correctly on
commissioning.”
Assembling the Solution
The Result
Key Challenges
Another noteworthy part of project was the global scale
of the supply chain – and here the flexible and extensive
manufacturing capabilities of Zytronic come to the fore.
The internal electronics, LCD screens and the artificial marble
housings were sourced locally in Singapore, but the metalwork
for the directories was manufactured in Christchurch, New
Zealand and the touch sensors came from Zytronic in
Newcastle, England.
With over 300 retail stores spanning over a distance of
over half kilometer, navigation of the space has been vastly
improved with the implementation of digital directories. In
addition, the media capabilities of the solution allowed the
centre to showcase their many high profile tenants using
engaging imagery.
“This project was all about creating the best possible
experience for the customer,” said Paul. “The Shoppes
at Marina Bay Sands is equipped to the very highest
standards throughout, and the brief for the new wayfinding points was to fully match that.”
“Visitors’ expectations are based on the tablets and
smartphones they have in their hands. Delivering that
accurate and completely reliable touch experience on a
40” toughened screen isn’t easy – but is a challenge that
Zytronic fully meets with its latest PCT touch technology.”
http://abuzzsolutions.com/solutions.html
http://zytronic.co.uk/
86
INSTALLATIONS
MALAYSIA
1 Utama Shopping Centre Revamps Digital Signage Delivery
Leading Shopping Mall Deploys Digital Signage Effortlessly.
PROJECT FACTFILE
Client: 1 Utama Shopping Centre
Segment: Retail / Commercial
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
System Integrator/Distributor: JD Molecule Sdn
Bhd
Task: To implement a digital signage system that
transmits information effectively and efficiently with
minimal fuss and effort.
Solution Highlight: Gefen Video Over IP solutions
(EXT-HD2IRS-LAN-TX / RX), Navori Digital Signage
Backbone, Avaya Gigabit switch.
S
panning over 5 million sq. ft. and boasting 8 retail levels,
1 Utama Shopping Centre is one of the largest malls in
the world. Nestled in Bandar Utama Damansara, Petaling
Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, the award-winning shopping centre
has gone on to redefine the shopping scene since its opening.
Some of its industry-first achievements include the Skybridge,
a lush tropical Rainforest inside the mail and its Secret Garden,
South East Asia's largest rooftop garden.
“Embarking in technology to enhance customer experience is
always our target,” said Angie Hilda Cutter, Managing Director
of 1 Utama Shopping Centre. “1 Utama is one of the first malls
in Malaysia to implement digital signage when CRT is still
common.
The Objective
To give its patrons the best of shopping experience, 1 Utama
wanted a digital signage system that can deliver the latest
promotions messages and event happenings quickly and
effectively to its patrons while also providing its tenants a
direct platform to broadcast their promotional messages.
Being an industry pioneer in technology adoption, 1 Utama
already had an existing digital signage system in place and is
INSTALLATIONS
quite familiar with the digital signage system. But because the
current system was outdated and needed a lot of maintenance,
the management wanted a solution that is robust and user
friendly and yet flexible enough for future expansion in other
areas without the hassle of laying new signal cables, hacking
and other laborious work.
“Since the client began using digital signage many years ago,
they understand the hassle of splitting and extending source
signals to multiple displays across such big floor space,”
recalled Jeffrey Yip of JD Molecule. “They wanted a system
that was more flexible in expansion, and cost effective in
implementation.”
The Solution
The proposed solution is to duplicate the content from the
existing signage players without adding additional players or
licenses. In the process, JD Molecule proposed using Gefen
solution and the client shortlisted the company because
of its ease of deployment, setup, configuration and costeffectiveness.
Using Gefen's Video over IP solution, 1 Utama is able to
distribute digital signage content throughout the mall with the
addition of just a network point, making the routing of content
from various sources easy and flexible.
Key Gefen products used in the project include the sender/
receiver units EXT-HD2IRS-TX/RX, where 17 senders and 55
receivers were installed in different wings at different floors.
The Digital Signage system also runs on the Navori backbone,
supplemented with 6 units of Avaya 4000 Series Gigabit switch,
a fiber optic network backbone and supported by a Lenovo
Mini PC Q190E. In terms of displays, JD Molecule has selected
100 units of Panasonic 55” Commercial Display TH-50LFE7.
“The products used are carefully selected and tested before
we propose them to the client. Hence, the entire system works
smoothly,” explained Jeffrey.
Key Challenge
With more than 5 million square feet of retail space, equipping
every corners of the shopping centre with the digital signage
87
is a challenge both financially and technically mainly due to the
hardware and licensing fees and the maintenance cost, but that
is not all to the challenges the project team faced.
“One of the major challenge we had would be during the initial
setup and testing stage,” said Jeffrey. “We need to ensure that
the content shown is synchronized on all displays. To achieve
that, we had to deploy groups of personnel to monitor the
display for various content and sources.”
Client's Satisfaction
So did 1 Utama feels that the installation has met their
objective?
“Yes,” agreed Angie. “Our objective was to have the latest
technology that would provide us with the flexibility of source
switching and routing by wings/ floors and by theme. The
system does just what we wanted and beyond.”
When asked what was their favourite part of the installation,
Angie commented the simplicity and user-friendliness of the
backend digital signage system, the design of standee and
video over IP distribution system were the main highlights.
“Most importantly, the feedback we gathered so far from
patrons and tenants have been positive,” said Angie. “They
are satisfied with the experience and we are glad to have
implemented this.”
www.gefen.com
www.jdm-distribution.com
88
VOICE BOX
The Future of the Hospitality Sector – Personalisation
By Scott Brothers
© 2016 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
T
he hospitality sector is being disrupted in a number of
ways for all players – from start-ups to boutique hotels.
Innovation is also coming from established companies
who are preparing for and reacting to disruption. And as with
all industries, technology is at the centre of big changes.
Recent research outlines 92 per cent of hoteliers believe that
by 2020 guests will expect their stay to be personalised around
a set of choices they make before they arrive. However, 52
per cent of hospitality organisations haven’t yet implemented
a strategy for leveraging technology to enhance the guest
experience in this way.
Technology is at the centre of experiential innovation and
the opportunities for the hospitality leaders to emerge are
huge. Some hoteliers are already on the front foot and using
technology to transform customer service, redefining the way
they engage with guests to create an optimum experience.
Hilton Hotels, for example, has rolled out engaging features
in their app, HHhonors, including smartphone based check-ins
and room key functionality. The Digital Key can also be used to
get access into other areas of the property available to guests
including the gym, pool and parking garage.
The Power Of Personalisation
Hotels are using new technologies, drawing upon the efficiency
of smartphones and tablets, enabling guest convenience and
comfort. A personalised customer service has always been
important in the hospitality sector – this hasn’t changed. For
instance, the Ritz-Carlton’s three steps to service include:
• A warm and sincere greeting
• Use the guest's name. Anticipation and fulfilment of each
guest's needs
• Fond farewell. Give a warm goodbye and use the guest's
name
These steps place the customer at the centre. However, with
the volume of their guests’ data companies now have available,
personalisation is getting easier and so must be implemented
for businesses to remain competitive with emergent leaders.
Hotels should now be using video and data analytics as a
minimum to enable recognition of guests from previous stays
and provide a tailored service to each customer, ready before
they get to the concierge desk.
VOICE BOX
The Journey Is Changing
The customer journey is starting earlier and it’s getting
increasingly seamless. Guests typically book online. The ease of
a few clicks in an app is making the booking experience easier
and more integrated with a traveller’s lifestyle.
89
dramatically improve the guest experience. Comprehensive
guest profiles allow for a more personalised service.
New mobile behaviours are creating a new journey for
consumers. What used to take considerable time and effort in
terms of visiting a travel agent and looking through endless
brochures, can now take a matter of minutes via an app or
mobile-optimised website. Consumers are used to this service
and expect their preferences and digitally-savvy needs to be
met at every step of their journey.
For instance, instead of having staff fixed in certain places in
a restaurant, the use of intelligent 360 degree cameras can
use data from ‘hot spots’ to tell restaurant managers where an
overcrowded space is and when a table hasn’t been attended
to for a while. By implementing smart sensors, hotel companies
can more effectively manage energy usage and assets. Sensors
can be used in guest rooms to measure natural light and dim
artificial lighting as a result, to start heating as guests arrive at
their floor, or lock windows if the guest has left the room, for
example.
Congruently, hospitality businesses can and should be
extending a mobile-centric experience throughout all guests’
visits. Through digitally driven, app or web interactions and
some business intelligence, hoteliers can discover to the
minute when a guest is arriving and ensure their staff are ready
to greet them, by name – and even with their favourite drink.
Tablets, for example, are taking staff out from behind the
reception desk and delivering a slicker experience on arrival.
Incorporating IoT and smart sensors delivers business
intelligence that can help cut costs and improve customer
service. Hotel managers can detect issues within rooms such as
a burst water pipe that could cause damage to the room and
beyond, impacting costs and making interactions with guests
timelier. IoT can detect change in the environment and enable
staff to resolve issues efficiently to deliver an optimised guest
experience.
IoT And BI Delivering Competitive
Advantage
The hospitality sector is waking up to the many opportunities
technology can bring to their business and significantly
improve guest experiences. For some companies, they’re
already advancing their technology and adapting to the
evolving landscape. However, other players in the industry are
lagging behind.
The Internet of Things (IoT), the concept of connecting any
device with an on and off switch to the internet, combined with
business intelligence will really change the hospitality sector,
enabling switched-on companies to raise the game in total
venue management and guest experience.
The hospitality sector caters to millions of travellers daily. Each
traveller has their own set of expectations and the onus is on
corporates to meet these expectations in order to get them to
return and raise their reputations and profits.
Hence, increasingly, hospitality corporates are turning to
analytics and business intelligence to help keep their customers
happy. Real-time insights on guests can enable businesses to
By 2020, Millennials are projected to spend $4.1 trillion
annually, according to Accenture, becoming the largest sector
of consumers with disposable income. With 52 percent of
Millennials ranking far above average for technology adoption,
hospitality businesses risk falling behind customer expectations
if they don’t evolve and adapt to give the people what they
want – a special experience.
www.oncamgrandeye.com
Scott Brothers is the VP Global Business Development
of Oncam Grandeye, a pioneer of 360-degree video
technology. A global technology company that delivers
intelligent video and video-based analytic and business
intelligence solutions, Oncam has deep industry
knowledge and specialized expertise in retail, critical
infrastructure, safe cities, transportation, education,
gaming, healthcare, commercial and governmental
projects.
90
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