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• Large-Scale Projection Mapping And Design At Vivid Sydney 2016 • PROJECTS: L’Acoustics At Block 22 Nightclub • EXHIBITION: PALM Expo Review • INTERVIEW: Stonewater And FaitalPRO – An OEM CollaborationTRANSCRIPT
J U L Y
w w w . e - t e c h a s i a . c o m
2016
PROJECTS: L’Acoustics At Block 22 Nightclub EXHIBITION: PALM Expo Review INTERVIEW: Stonewater And FaitalPRO – An OEM Collaboration
Vivid Sydney 2016Large-Scale Projection Mapping And Design At
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INTHISISSUE:
04 FIRST WORDS
06 COMMENTARY
10 NEWS
28 VIDEO FILES
30 ENNOVATIONS
INTERVIEW40 Stonewater And DaitalPRO: An OEM
Collaboration
EXHIBITION REVIEW44 PALM Expo India
PROJECTS49 India: Delivering A Sound Performance
At The KEA Prabhath Rangamandira50 India: L-Acoustics ARCS WiFo At Block
22 Nightclub52 Japan: MLA Family Takes Hakataza
Theatre Upgrade Into A New Dimension
EXHIBITION PREVIEW54 PALM Expo China
LIVE57 Australia: Large-Scale Projection
Mapping An Design At Vivid Sydney 2016
62 South Korea: Seoul World DJ Festival Grows With Nexo Systems
64 Singapore: The Music Run 201665 Australia: Hilltop Woods Wows
Audiences Across Australia
66 EVENTS LISTING
58
40
V O L 1 7 I S S U E 6 J U L Y 2 0 1 6
FIRST WORDSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 04
Solutions Borne Out Of NecessityManufacturers are always looking to improve and upgrade their products to cater to growing needs and that is expected. However there has also been a growing number of users be they rental&staging companies or installation companies who have created their own solutions to help them do their job better. A simple example would be a company like PRG who through their vast experience started to manufacture their own solutions as a way to move forward and be distinct from the rest.
In our June issue we published about the illumination of Studio City Macau by illumination Physics who were also responsible to design and install the lighting. Needing to install a media facade in a space that can be accessed for maintenance, but with some difficulty, the illumination Physics team created a unique IP Media Dots solution with no electronics on board and with each board having its own dedicated extra low voltage cable. By simplifying the Media Dot, it is made truly robust and the single cable per fixture means that if one IP Media Dot is damaged, the problem can only affect that one singular item, not a string of Media Dots connected in series, thus easing maintenance work.
In this issue, our cover story is about Vivid 2016 and as many of you will be well aware, the Technical Direction Company (TDC) has been wowing audiences every year with their projection mapping capabilities. To make it easier for the company to monitor the status of the projectors in the various sites, the company created its own software programme, “TDC Live View”, which has helped them tremendously with their work.
I am sure there are many other such solutions borne out of necessity from the simple to the complicated. This industry thrives on creativity and we are sure we will see more such solutions coming into play.
Thomas Richard PrakasamPublisher/Editorial [email protected]
DisclaimerEntertainment Technology Asia is published 12 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.
Dennis TohBrand Engagement [email protected]
Ram BhavanashiEditor, India And Middle [email protected]
Jimmy ChinDesign And [email protected]
Rosalind TanEditor, Digital Platform (Freelance)[email protected]
Shireen HoAssistant [email protected]
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COMMENTARYE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 06
Thailand Takes Comprehensive Steps To Upgrade Skillsets by Daniel Choo
Thailand is on the right path to upgrade occupational skills in the entertainment technology industry. Taking the lead are veterans from the sound, light, visual and acoustic sectors of the live entertainment segment. Witnessing the growth and expansion over the past 4 decades of the entertainment industry in Thailand and recognising that the industry needs the required skillsets to keep pace is what motivated the industry to come up with a comprehensive plan.
With only a handful of local universities offering degrees related to the entertainment industry, interested individuals find it hard to get a good job in the industry due to poor or no foundation training. The flow of poorly trained workers has many companies scrambling to find ways to expand their business, which has resulted in companies conducting in-house training to all staff and dealers to advance themselves, where there is no real standardisation of skills.
In 2014, the initial team consisting of Daniel Choo and Ajran Wanchai got the chance to present the issue of unskilled manpower in the entertainment industry to the management of TPQI for a review to include entertainment technology occupational skillsets as part of TPQI framework.
Finally, a MOU was signed and the Institute of Vocational Southern 3 was appointed as the project manager to establish the work-group to prepare the initial approved list of occupation. The approved sector was for Live Entertainment Technology in sound, lighting, visual and acoustic.
Four categories for each aspect was formulated for training and certification, as follows:
Operator Setup & Integrator Designer Maintenance
Sound Reinforcement √ √ √ √
Stage Lighting √ √ √ √
Live Visual (projection & LED) √ √ √ √
Acoustic (small room) - √ √ -
Advisors, project team and working group (Sound, Lights, Image & Acoustic)
E T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 08
TPQI is a member of the global TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) movement launched and supported by UNESCO-UNEVOC back in 1992. TPQI mission is to certify professional knowledge, expertise and skills by determining the level of personal competencies using standardized classification of personal competencies to promote national competitiveness. This process of trying to promote professional qualification as a means to job placement and career advancement aims to help people excel in respective industries. This would help bridge the importance between knowledge and competency for a more holistic professional advancement and ensure that the industry as a whole has more qualified personnel joining the ranks.
This TVET movement not only helps establish a pool of skilled workers for the industry but it does contribute to the bottom line of unclassified and unemployment figures too, as it reaches out to all 77 provinces in Thailand, where proper education, training and even certification is not a given.
In addition, as the leader among the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam region, the formalization of skills and certification of TVET vocational training, would help spearhead Thailand as the entertainment and training hub for this region.
The initial sectors within the entertainment industry urgently needed were sound reinforcement, live stage lighting, live imaging projection and acoustic design for music venue. Since these sectors employed the most people across all 77 provinces, be it mini concerts in shopping malls to temple shows to big local & international concerts.
The process started with the gathering of leading industry veterans and top Thais companies in the sound, light, visual & rental business to gather for the very first time to share experiences and expectation for the development of new professional occupation standard.
The initial phase saw the formation of the skillsets needed for Sound and Lights for live events, club, theatre and MICE industry. Professionals from the local industry were invited to join the various workshops to share about the various skills in demand within these industries. Their main task was then to help draft the skillset required for each job and then further divide them into various skills level. The team met on a weekly basis to brainstorm on the formation and formalisation of the first occupational standard for the Thai entertainment industry.
Working group presenting the skill framework for each sector of sound, lights, image and acoustic.
COMMENTARY
NEWSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 10
APG at Yale-NUS
SINGAPORE: Yale-NUS College has the distinction of being the very first liberal arts college in Singapore. The college was established in 2011 as a collaboration between Yale University from USA and the National University of Singapore.
Located within University Town in central Singapore, the college features three performance spaces, namely the Performance Hall, Blackbox Theatre and the Amphitheatre.
The Performance Hall has a total seating capacity of 339 between its Stall and Circle seats and is used for acoustic performances, talks, seminars, concerts and even doubles up as a lecture theatre when needed.
The Blackbox Theatre has 126 retractable bleachers with a maximum capacity of 152 seats and is used for theatre performances as well as talks, seminars, concerts and classroom lecture.
The outdoor Amphitheatre is designed as a 3-tier semi-circular seating space and does not have an overhead protection from the weather. It is mainly used for small gigs and as a hangout space.
The technical team at Yale-NUS wanted to add a decent audible sound system to their inventory that will help enhance what they already had and offer them more options. After enquiring and listening to a few brands, they decided on APG's DX12 and SB115 systems. The DX12 is a 2-way coaxial, bass reflex system that features a 12” Neodymium cone driver and a 1” Neodymium HF driver. The SB115 is a compact, vented, dual interactive chamber subwoofer that features a 15” ferrite cone driver.
“The systems purchased by Yale-NUS can be used both as a FOH or monitoring system thus offering the technical team flexibility on how they want to use it in their various spaces,” said Imran Hahrit, Sales Director, APG S.E.Asia Pte Ltd.
Md Shafei Bin Seri, Technical Manager at Yale-NUS commented, “The APG systems are small built but offer good precise sound output. The unique low profile of the DX12 speaker allows us to use it as a floor monitor in the Performance Hall where the first row seats are less than 1 meter from the stage.”
www.apg-se.asia
(L-R): Mohamad Kamis bin Ahmad – Technical Crew, Fairuz Azhar Bin Mohd Hatta – Technical Crew, Gregory Dapsanse, APG and Md Shafei Bin Seri, Technical Manager, Yale-NUS
NEWSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 12
Mackie At The Art Of Living InitiativeINDIA: The iconic Art of Living initiative in Mumbai has splendidly come up to speed with the fast paced evolution in audio reinforcement, as it recently added a brand new unit of the highly versatile and effective DL1608 16-channel compact digital mixing console from global pro audio giants Mackie. This decisive audio requirement was catered to and commissioned by Sonotone Electronics – the official distributors of Mackie professional audio products in India.
Vaibhav, the official audio engineer to the Art of Living Initiative in Mumbai, shares a quote on the purchase of the Mackie DL1608 compact digital mixing console, saying “The Art of Living is all about seeking spiritual enlightenment and peace, and in such a tranquil atmosphere it is of utmost importance to have an audio experience that would do justice to its solemnity. Through my own personal experience as live sound professional of several years and thanks to the many months of research that I spent in choosing the right mixing console for our shows, I learnt
that of all the available options, the Mackie DL1608 promised the best set of features with the promise of amazing flexibility and great quality sonic delivery, irrespective of the genre of music you’re playing or the application being catered to.”
“The console is extremely easy to understand and use, and over abundance of features packed into its tiny and extremely portable friendly frame, combined with its amazing adaptability makes the Mackie DL1608 a real asset. Plus, the sales and service support that we’ve received from Sonotone throughout the entire process has been amazing – we were really impressed. All in all, the experience has been great – this is a truly amazing product, and the management at the Art Of Living are absolutely convinced about the amazing change in the quality of audio experience at the various stasangs and events that we do.”
www.sonotone.in
GLD Supports China’s Popular Entertainment ShowsCHINA: Chinese production company, Hunan Broadcasting System, recently purchased an Allen & Heath GLD-112 digital mixer with AR2412 and AB168 IO racks to manage its live entertainment shows, starting with the most popular entertainment show in China, Super Girl.
New for the returning season, the final six episodes of Super Girl were broadcast live on imgo.TV, an Internet TV platform affiliated to Hunan, with more than 35 million active viewers per day. The shows featured performances from final competing contestants with commentary from five professional judges on stage, plus two guest performing artists. The biggest technical challenge was handling the mixture of handheld and headset microphones and various open mics, which was managed by GLD’s Automatic Mic Mixing (AMM) feature.
“The AMM feature is just fantastic, making GLD a perfect choice for TV broadcast applications. While in the past I have had great trouble balancing the sound from handheld and headset microphones, I now get the handy AMM to easily make things right,” explains Zhang Kaifeng, FOH
engineer. “Allen & Heath’s GLD mixer is already highly cost-effective and with AMM it becomes an even more valuable asset, that is definitely worth investing in.”
GLD’s AMM can be configured to work across all 44 microphone sources, allowing the user to select which inputs should be auto-mixed without the usual restrictions of a 16 channel insert based system.
www.allen-heath.com
NEWSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 14
Christie Brings Legendary Korean Artist Lee Jung-Seob’s Masterpieces To Life
SOUTH KOREA: Christie® visual solutions is bringing the artworks of legendary Korean painter Lee Jung-Seob to life with digital projections of his masterpieces during a five-month exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea from June 3 to October 3, 2016.
Titled “The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Korean Modern Masters – Lee Jung-Seob,” the event pays tribute to the painter, known as Korea’s national artist, for his contributions to the introduction of western-style painting in the country. Lee is most famous for his works featuring oxen and family, acclaimed for their artistic and historical value. His masterpieces – created during the nation’s turbulent history from Japan’s colonial rule of Korea and liberation to the Korean War and after – are highly treasured for symbolizing the indomitable spirit of the Korean people. The paintings also epitomize the artist’s
strong yearnings for his family and his passionate artistic essence.
Displayed on two canvases illuminated by five Christie E Series 1DLP® projectors, the exhibition is sponsored by Christie Korea with the projectors installed by valued partner IMTEC, which was responsible for several outstanding digital art and performance projects in Korea, such as the ground-breaking ‘Deoksugung Project’ exhibition in 2012 and ‘The Magic Flute’ opera performance in 2015. Both events used Christie visual solutions.
Four edge-blended E Series projectors light up the 16-meter wide by 3-meter high first canvas featuring the artist’s experimental paintings on the metal foil linings of cigarette packs. Thanks to Christie’s high definition display technology, the original 15cm by 9cm paintings are bringing out the beauty of these small silver foil drawings.
Visitors admiring digital projections of Lee Jung-Seob’s experimental paintings at the exhibition
Christie E Series projectors used at the art exhibition
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NEWSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 16
The 4-meter wide and 3-meter high second canvas is lit by an E Series projector displaying images of art pieces created during the Korean War when Lee spent a year living in a small house with his Japanese wife and two sons in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. The digital artworks displayed include the famous “Illusion of Seogwipo” painting that shows birds and people living in harmony on a warm day, while Korean peaches hang heavy and sweet in the treetops above.
“We’re very honoured to be involved in this important exhibition featuring one of the most celebrated Korean artists in modern times by showcasing his priceless artworks using Christie’s advanced projection technology,” said Min-Don Joo, Director, IMTEC. “The Christie E Series projectors have presented Lee Jung-Seob’s paintings in such a beautiful and realistic way that we are able to get a glimpse of the life of this artistic genius. I hope that the projected visuals will enhance visitors’ appreciation of our
national artist’s masterpieces and to hold on to the belief of never letting go of hope and innocence, even in hardships.”
Henry Khang, General Manager, Christie Korea, added, “At Christie, our mission is to create and share the best experiences with our visual solutions. We are delighted that the Christie E Series, known for its unrivalled value, versatility and superior image quality, has been chosen by our partner IMTEC for this landmark exhibition that commemorates the 100th anniversary of Lee Jung-Seob's birth.”
With a brightness of up to 7200 lumens, full HD resolution and 5000:1 contrast ratio, the Christie E Series produces images with incredible color and brightness, and is ideal for venues such as museums and auditoriums.
www.christiedigital.com
PT HESED Kharis Appointed Exclusive Distributor For Indonesia By CadacINDONESIA: Cadac announced the appointment of PT HESED Kharis as exclusive distributor for Indonesia. HESED is a leading distributor and system integrator in the territory, and adds Cadac, as its exclusive mixing console brand, to a portfolio that includes the likes of TWAUDiO, Powersoft and Lab Gruppen.
Speaking about the agreement, signed at ProLight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt, HESED Managing Director Dene Dave Laoh, said, “The market in Indonesia knows HESED as a high quality system integrator and distributor of leading brands. Our vision is to provide the best solutions to the audio market in Indonesia. With brands like TWAUDiO, Powersoft and Lab Gruppen, we required a comparable mixing console brand; Cadac is a perfect fit. It provides us with the opportunity to become a quality mixing console distributor and to specify industry leading digital consoles within fixed installations and mobile systems.”
Cadac’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Richard Ferriday, responded, “Appointing HESED as our Indonesian distributor is an extremely important part of our continual strategy of building a strong global partner network. HESED
is incredibly committed to providing the best products and support to its customers, in addition to which the company’s enthusiasm for Cadac made it the logical choice for the territory.”
www.cadac-sound.comwww.hesedindonesia.com
L–R: Cadac Director of Sales and Marketing Richard Ferriday, HESED Managing Director Dene Dave Laoh and Cadac Marketing Manager James Godbehear on the Cadac booth at ProLight+Sound
NEWSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 18
Proel Delivers Axiom Seminar In Hanoi
VIETNAM: Proel's newly appointed distributor Viet Thai An Trading Co. Ltd. organised a product seminar and demonstration of Axiom professional loudspeaker products in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi in March. Technical sales support engineer Daniele Massaccesi, in a format that has proved successful in opening new markets to the Axiom brand, introduced the company's 25 year history in manufacturing, and the solutions offered by Axiom loudspeaker systems.
The first day was largely devoted to training of the internal sales and technical support staff, introducing them to an overview of the products in the Axiom range and their applications. The second day's proceedings provided a more detailed presentation of the entire Axiom product catalogue – medium and small scale line arrays, point source loudspeakers, subwoofers, and supporting electronics – and how they may be best used to create solutions for many everyday problems encountered in mobile and permanently installed sound reinforcement situations. In particular, two relevant topics were discussed: subwoofer array beam forming, and examples of how to use front fill speakers to augment a main PA system.
On the third day an outdoor demo was staged at the Cultural House of Thanh Xuan District, which has a capacity of 1500 people, with high quality pre-recorded music files and a live band. There were two main PA setups for the live demo – an Axiom powered line array system consisting of six AX2010A dual 10-inch elements and two SW218A dual 18-inch subwoofers per side, and a compact line array system consisting of two AX2065 passive elements and two AX2065 powered elements plus two SW125A dual 15-inch powered subwoofers per side.
According to Massaccesi, the attendees really appreciated the unexpected projection of the AX2010 array in the far field and the considerable energy delivered by the subwoofers, while they were impressed by the mid-range quality and clean, undistorted sound from the smaller AX2065 system.
Over the two days of the seminar, more than 40 people attended, the majority from rental and event companies, and three well-known sound engineers from Hanoi were also present. More than 400 people attended the demonstration from all over Vietnam, and they were all
NEWSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 20
very surprised and excited about the sound quality of the Axiom line array systems.
"For us this event has been a big success," said Mr Trung. "These kinds of seminars and product demonstrations are very important to affirm ourselves in the Vietnamese pro audio market, and we are very grateful to Proel for the resources they have provided us. Although we are a young company, incorporated in 2014, we are growing fast with more than 15 staff spread across sales, purchasing, marketing and PR, after sales service, and warehousing.
"Many more people came to the demo than we expected, and we are confident that exposure to the Axiom systems and products will translate into results – we have signed seven contracts already and expect many more in the next few months. We had some excellent feedback from customers who have now learned as a result of the seminar the key points of difference, and how to install and use Axiom loudspeakers in professional applications. We were
all really impressed with the sound quality of the speaker systems, and with the excellent presentations and product information we will be able to convince our customers of the strength of the Axiom brand."
“I am very happy to have had the opportunity to meet this company," said Proel's export area manager Gabriella Di Giminiani. "Viet Thai An Trading Co. is the perfect partner for us. They are all young people but already very experienced sound engineers – hard workers, very capable, dynamic, and focused. They immediately understood the value of our products and have been explaining it successfully to their customers. With them I am sure that Axiom will have the right appreciation and positioning in the Vietnamese market. This is the best synergy we could hope for, and indeed the results in terms of sales are already so incredibly positive.”
www.proel.com
NEWSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 22
Barco Night 2016
SINGAPORE: Barco held its by invitation only event on 1st June at the open rooftop level of OUE Bayfront. Thankfully the rain had let up on time and it provided a cool evening for guests to mingle and get information about Barco's latest product releases.
In a separate room within the venue, Barco showcased its latest ClickShare solution and more interestingly the Junior edition from its Event Master family – the E2 Jr and S3-4K Jr thus enabling smaller companies to benefit from Barco's renowned technology, advanced features and 4K performance at an attractive price point.
The ClickShare solutions on showcase were the CS-100 targeted for 1 user on-screen that enables sharing from a smartphone, tablet or laptop and the CSE-200 for up to 2 users on-screen, mainly targeted at smaller meeting rooms or even huddle-room space.
As the sun set, guests that included many from the region comprising of system integrators, rental&staging companies and distributors, not only got to enjoy the beautiful view of the waters facing Marina Bay Sands but also the projection and masking abilities of a strategically placed Barco projector, HDX-W20 FLEX, projecting a monkey, snake, lizard and an owl on two separate trees within the venue.
The cool evening, the delicious tapas that were served and of course the drinks provided the perfect evening for the industry to mingle, network, and get to know the Barco solutions in a relaxing atmosphere.
www.barco.com
Projection Mapping onto the two trees at the venue.
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Speechline Digital Wireless at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature DUBAI: db, a leading AV-rental company in Dubai, recently upgraded its microphone inventory with the latest Speechline Digital Wireless microphone systems from Sennheiser. Selected for its rich feature set, unmatched speech intelligibility, and aesthetic appeal, the new system is being positioned by the rental firm as the solution of choice for blue chip corporate events and conferences.
Following delivery of the new system and after receiving comprehensive training, 3db leveraged its new Speechline Digital Wireless audio system for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (EAFOL), for which speech intelligibility was paramount. The setup would have required over 60 channels of traditional analogue systems which would have been problematic given the close proximity of the conference halls. However, using the new system, 3db managed to reduce the RF count by 40% which reduced the risk of RF interference.
Pre-production planning and live analysis were also key to the success of the event. As the EAFOL was the first major Speechline Digital Wireless project in the region, Sennheiser’s local team supported 3db throughout pre-production and the event itself. “The project was a resounding success for 3db as a number of users praised the ease of use, ergonomics and style of the SL range,” said James Ghamlouch, Head of Audio at 3db.
Over the duration of a 14-year long partnership, 3db and Sennheiser have enjoyed a number of successes. “The collaboration and assistance we have had from 3db will ensure that the Speechline Digital Wireless product range gets rolled out and progresses to become not just the only wireless microphone system dedicated to speech but the most successful one as well. We are very grateful to the whole 3db team for their commitment to this new product range and we look forward to continuing our close relationship with them,” said Ryan Burr, Technical Sales Manager at Sennheiser Middle East.
www.sennheiser.com
NEWSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 25
MNA Rises In The East:New Chinese Member Companies Join The Alliance
CHINA: The Media Networking Alliance (MNA) – the professional AV industry alliance established to promote awareness and uptake of AES67 – has announced the membership of two major Chinese audio technology companies.
3G Audio and Ningbo Soundking Electronics & Sound Company are the first mainland China based companies to join the MNA through the offices of Sam Zhao, newly appointed MNA Representative, Greater China. System Application Engineer, Greater China with QSC Asia, Sam is a graduate in Electronic Engineering of the Beijing Broadcasting Institute. He has focused on developing applications of AV networking technologies from the earliest days of CobraNet, including as Chief of Technology Training Section at the Technology Management Center, at China Radio International. He has written extensive technical papers in China on the subject.
In the past 15 years Sam has trained more than 6000 people in the field of DSP and network transmission solutions throughout Greater China, and has worked on a number of high level network application projects for airports, theme parks and convention centers. He joined QSC in 2013, relocating to Hong Kong. The MNA appointed Sam in May this year as its representative in Greater China, to promote AES67 development in the region.
“China is the biggest PRO-AV market after the USA, and the global leader for PRO-AV production, with companies servicing both local and international markets,” he states. “However, there is a major challenge with intercommunication and compatibility between different networking protocol and the various technical issues. AES67 helps to solve these issues. Already the MNA organization is helping many manufacturing companies and system-integrators to enhance their networking solutions, even as a brand new technical standard in China.”
3G Audio was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Dongguan City in Guangdong province. The company has sales offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, focusing on professional sound engineering, system design, technical services and product sales. A major speaker and PA systems manufacturer, the company has international distributors, including in Europe and the US. The subject of AoIP is of keen interest to the company in its future product development plans. According to CTO Ammon Ren, AES67 has a significant role to play in that, “The thing that excites us and, clearly, a lot of rest of the audio industry about AES67, is that it is pragmatic.”
Soundking Electronics & Sound Co, based in Ningbo south of Shanghai, is among the largest musical equipment and professional audio manufacturers in China, having been in the industry for 28 years. The company was a leading supplier to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and owns a number of leading professional audio brands in Europe. In a statement, the company said, “At present the interconnection problem of loudspeaker and network interface is one of the key innovative technologies in the audio industry, it is also a problem requiring a solution that is a unified future standard for the audio industry. We have joined the MNA to help make that technological innovation reality, whereby we can effectively communicate with all members, participate in seminars, promote international exchanges and expand the market, and also to further improve the level of technology skills and management for our company.”
www.medianetworkingalliance.com
Sam Zhao, newly appointed MNA Representative, Greater China
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Community Appoints Kim Muurholm Juergensen For APAC Sales
B&C Appoints New Regional Sales Manager For APAC/EMEA Region
APAC: Community Professional Loudspeakers has announced the appointment of Kim Muurholm Juergensen in the position of APAC Sales Manager. Mr Juergensen graduated with a bachelor degree in Chinese studies and business economics from the University of Aarhus (Denmark) and received an MBA degree in international business from the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand). He also brings linguistic abilities to his new role, speaking English, German, Chinese Mandarin and Thai, in addition to his native Danish. Directly embarking on an international career path focused on the APAC region, Mr. Juergensen joined the pro audio and AV industry 15 years ago and has worked with Jebsen & Jessen Marketing (T) Ltd. in Thailand, E-way Ltd. in China and Danish Interpretation Systems A/S. He joins Community from Shure Asia Limited, where he held management roles in business and market development. “I am very honoured to join the Community team,” said Mr Juergensen. “Since 1968 Community has been an industry leader, designing and producing superior sounding solutions for tough outdoor and acoustically challenging indoor use in a wide variety of venues and applications. The brand heritage, excellent engineering and product performance is outstanding in this industry. I am excited to begin working
with the Community team and our partners in the APAC region, expanding sales of products that deliver premium quality audio across our key vertical markets.” Steve Johnson, Community’s CEO, commented, “We’re very happy that Kim is joining us. He brings the substantial experience we wanted to further develop and support our APAC distribution channels. As we seek to expand the global reach of our most successful product families ever, Kim will be a vital link to the important and rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region, delivering Community’s industry leading customer support to distributors, integrators and audio consultants. I’m very pleased to welcome him to the Community team.” Mr Juergensen is also appointed as APAC Sales Manager for Apart Audio nv, a sister company of Community Professional Loudspeakers within Audioprof Group International. www.communitypro.com
APAC: B&C Speakers has appointed Gianluca Dalessandro as Regional Sales Manager for the APAC/EMEA Region.
“Gianluca is a welcome addition to our team. He is an ambitious and active personality that will surely offer positive and creative ways to improve sales, for B&C and our partners,” said Ron Tizzard, Director of Sales for B&C Speakers. “He has thirst for knowledge, and a drive that we are certain all of our customers will enjoy.”
Gianluca had spent the last five years in International Sales for a large, international, professional loudspeaker brand. He has travelled extensively in his territory. When not travelling, he will spend the majority of his time working from the B&C Head Office location in Florence.
www.bcspeakers.com
VIDEO FILESE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 28
Training Videos From Launch of Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War In Singapore
Proylte’s Verto Truss
If you are a Zero88 console user, you will find useful video tips from Lighting Controls, who are the distributors in Singapore for the brand. Currently there are four short videos touching on copying scenes, editing scenes, inserting scenes and how to record submasters.
MA Lighting
Let Lighting Designer Chris Moylan bring you through the steps of using your dot2 more effectively. MA Lighting's dot2 has been gaining momentum since its launch and these tutorials are the perfect complement once you have purchased your dot2 console.
Prolyte's Verto truss is a new revolutionary system, making truss connection fast, silent and safe. The Verto truss brings a totally new perspective on truss assembly and is described as a game changer in our industry. Check out the video and see how the Verto is going to revolutionise your truss assembling and de-assembling.
dot2 Tutorials
Hexogon Solution Pte Ltd was appointed by Walt Disney Company to light up Marina Bay Sands Singapore for the launch of Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War. Hexogon Solution deployed a total of 39 units of high lumens projectors, that comprised of 27 units 20,000 lumens projectors and 12 units of the latest state-of-the-art 4K resolution digital projectors for this astounding 6-minute spectacular.
Lighting Controls
ENNOVATIONSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 30
Barco Introduces Two New JuniorsCatering to companies who are pining to have the Event Master in their inventory but yet not needing the full feature for the moment, Barco has given them a way in with the introduction of two new juniors within their Event Master family of screen management systems. The E2 Jr and S3-4K Jr allow smaller companies to benefit from Barco's renowned technology, advanced features, and 4K performance at an attractive price point. Moreover, they always have the opportunity to upgrade to a full-blown E2 or S3-4K system at any time. This way their Event Master system grows with their shows.
The E2 Jr and S3-4K Jr enable easy and reliable show setup and production at 4K performance level and are future-proof as they provide an option to upgrade to the full E2 and S3-4K systems.
Offering 16 inputs, 8 outputs, and 8 mixers, the E2 Jr features the same 4 RU form factor as its bigger E2 brother. The S3-4K Jr comes with 8 inputs, 4 outputs, and 2 mixers in the same 3 RU form factor as its bigger S3-4K brother.
Just like the E2 and S3-4K, the Jr models are controlled from the same Event Master Toolset, a cross-platform GUI that provides an intuitive step-by-step approach to system configuration. Whether running on a Mac or Windows PC, the Event Master Toolset makes preset programming and system management effortless. The E2 Jr and S3-4K Jr are also compatible with the compact EC-50 and large EC-200 event controllers.
www.barco.com
Ashly Launches digiMIX24 Digital Mixer
Ashly's digiMIX24 is a versatile, compact 24-channel digital mixing console with professional inputs/outputs, integrated signal processing and effects, iPad® Remote Control integration, user-friendly software, and intuitive mixing via the live control surface. The Ashly digiMIX24 is ideal for worship and educational facilities, auditoriums, gymnasiums, performance spaces and project studios.
The Ashly digiMIX24 features 24 inputs (including 16 Class-A mic/line inputs); up to 14 mix buses (configurable in many useful ways); 8 Aux outputs, 8 channel inserts; 33 channels of dynamics and equalization processing; and 2 stereo effects processors with reverb, delay, chorus and more. Its intuitive control surface pairs with a seven-inch LCD colour touchscreen, intelligent metering, and motorized faders. The system management software makes it easy to save, load, or copy mixer setups. Optional, field-installable cards provide either Dante™ connectivity or a USB interface for easy multi-track recording or playback.
The digiMIX24 offers two modes: a normal technical mode with all of the depth and flexibility that an audio professional would expect and an ‘EZ-Mode’ for non-technical users in schools or churches. Like all Ashly products, the digiMIX24 is covered by the company’s industry-leading five-year warranty.
www.ashly.com
Discover Unprecedented Possibilitieswith AV Integration
Discover Unprecedented Possibilitieswith AV Integration
AudioVisual Integration (AVI) Expo delivers state-of-the-art integrating solutions for the Pro AV, Infocomm and Broadcast Industry
REGISTER TODAY FOR YOUR FREE PASS@ www.aviiexpo.in/register
FORSPACEBOOKING :
SHOWCASING SOLUTIONS FOR:
Ÿ Building & Enterprise Automation
Ÿ Control Systems
Ÿ Surveillance & Security Systems
Ÿ Collaborative Conferencing
Ÿ Digital Signage
Ÿ Display & Projection Technology
Ÿ Command & Control
Ÿ Public Address & Intercom
Ÿ Surveillance
Ÿ Simulation Meeting Room Control
Ÿ Projection & Display
Ÿ Mobile Communication Systems
Ÿ Interactive Digital Boards
Ÿ Multimedia Display
Ÿ 3D & Visualisation
Ÿ Projectors & Display
Ÿ Collaborative Conferencing
Ÿ Presentation Control
Ÿ Amplifiers, Speakers & Mixers
Ÿ AV Distribution & Delivery
Ÿ Media Walls
Ÿ Public Address & Intercom
Ÿ Streaming & Webcasting
Ÿ Video Production & Editing
AV Consultants /System Integrators GOVERNMENT EDUCATION BROADCAST
Events & Venues
Ÿ Video-mapping
Ÿ Large Venue projectors
Ÿ Speakers
Ÿ Projection & Display
Ÿ 3D & Visualisation
Ÿ Distributed Audio & Video Systems
Ÿ Lighting
ENTERPRISE IT USERS
Ÿ Interactive Digital Boards
Ÿ Enterprise Automation
Ÿ Projection & Display
Ÿ Presentation Room Control
Ÿ Board Room Technology
Ÿ Training Aids
Building & Hospitality
Ÿ Guest Room Entertainment & Control
Ÿ Digital Signage
Ÿ Projection & Display
Ÿ Public Address & Intercom
Ÿ Lighting
Ÿ Room Scheduling
Pubs, Clubs & Discos
Ÿ Install Sound
Ÿ Large Screen Displays
Ÿ Lighting Solutions
A visit to a large integrated project that provides professional AV consul tants a g l impse of the technicalities undergone to create a project, behind the scenes and various other activities.
AV Tech Tour
TECH TOUR
A 3 Day Conference where the Industry will gather to share cutting edge des ign and ins ta l la t ion experience and insights into business opportunities along with intensive in-depth presentationsbuilt on prestigious projects.
AV Tech Forum
ENNOVATIONSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 33
Community Announces Compact I SERIESCommunity announces three I SERIES Compact models designed to match the performance, appearance and voicing of the larger I SERIES Point Source and Subwoofer models. I SERIES Compact loudspeakers are the perfect complement to Community’s larger I SERIES 800-Level and 600-Level models for distributed applications, front-fill or side-fill or as the main loudspeakers in smaller spaces.
All Compact I SERIES have best-in-class LF extension, sensitivity and maximum output, ensuring high quality sound reproduction. The 6.5-inch IC6-1062 features unprecedented LF extension for its cabinet size and a very wide dispersion 100 x 100 degree fabric dome HF on a shallow waveguide, providing a smooth response while retaining high sensitivity. The single 8-inch IC6-1082 and symmetrical dual 8-inch IC6-2082 are available with two rotatable horn patterns (120 x 60 degrees, 90 x 60 degrees) paired with low distortion, high output 1.7-inch diaphragm HF compression drivers. Compact I SERIES are available in textured black or white or in a custom colour as one of several Configure-to-Order (CTO) options.
U-Brackets, Vertical Yokes and a 70V/100V autoformer are also available and the enclosures have mounting points for selected third party brackets. Compact I SERIES may be ordered in weather-resistant versions featuring grey PolyGlas™ enclosures and optional stainless-steel, powder-coated U-Brackets.
www.communitypro.com
ENNOVATIONSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 34
Elation Launches New High-resolution EVHD™ LED Video Displays
The EVHD Series™ of LED video displays, is a new family of professional, high-definition LED panels designed with creativity and ease-of-use in mind for more artistic video layouts.
Available in three different pixel pitches (2.8, 3.9 & 5.9 mm), the black-face EVHD video panels feature a lightweight, fanless and bezel-free design with durable die-cast aluminium frame for years of reliable service. A modular front maintenance construction means the EVHD panels can be mounted just inches off a wall for use in tight spaces and accessibility from both back and front makes for easier installation and more convenient service.
The EVHD panels are the ideal choice when the visual design calls for out-of-the-box thinking. Lockable curve adjustments make smooth, more creative convex or concave designs possible for a greater variety of design possibilities. Designers can create seamless curved video displays, even full circle designs, while maintaining pixel
pitch and without visible gaps. The EVHD Series panels use long-life SMD 2121 RGB LED's (SMD 1515 for the EVHD 2.8 version) in a 500mm x 500mm format with wide 140° horizontal and 120° vertical viewing angle for a more inclusive viewing experience.
Pixel by pixel calibration ensures optimal colour rendering and maximum evenness across the displays for the clearest colour and picture representation possible. Colours display vividly and consistently and a high level of brightness makes them suitable for use in high ambient lighting conditions. 14-bit grayscale processing gives a high quality picture with greater detail at lower brightness levels and a broadcast-quality refresh rate means the screens won't show flickering when used in broadcast applications. Average energy draw is low and a universal auto-sensing voltage power supply is included so the EVHD panels can operate wherever they are used in the world.
www.elationlighting.com
ENNOVATIONSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 36
Symetrix Releases Open Architecture Solus NX Series
Designed to serve in standalone DSP applications not requiring Dante network audio, Solus NX provides the same DSP power and delay memory as Symetrix' Radius, Prism and Edge DSPs. Solus NX is ideal for small to large installed sound applications, easily handling DSP-intensive processing, routing and delay in complex environments requiring sophisticated loudspeaker management, automixing, paging, zone mixing, routing and distribution, mic/line processing, AGC, room combining, and more. The series includes the Solus NX 4x4, 8x8 and 16x8, the models differing only in their number of analog audio inputs and outputs. All three feature a high-resolution graphic OLED which displays system status and metering. A single push-button is used to navigate menus. Onboard GPIO adds one more layer of control, flexibility, and economy. Solus NX's integration with Symetrix' award-winning Composer CAD based design software is especially significant. Now integrators need only to be familiar with a single programming platform to manage all Symetrix open-architecture DSPs, including Solus NX, Radius, Prism and Edge. Composers' Remote Control Manager provides a true central hub for all aspects of control, listing every parameter in the site file, with filtering options that make locating and assigning a parameter quick and easy. Additionally, an embedded server enables metering and diagnostics support, while providing integrators the tools
to monitor any Composer-designed system by simply launching a web browser and entering a specific unit's IP address. User control was top-of-mind in designing the Solus NX Series. As Mark Ryals, Symetrix Director of Marketing explains, "our customers demand flexible and intuitive user control options. We have them covered with the Solus NX Series: the convenience of zero-cost ARC-WEB to control volume, mute, source selection and other important parameters of sound systems from smartphone and tablet web browsers; the flexibility and utility of the entire line of low cost ARC wall panels, including the universal mount ARC-3; and support for SymVue, our runtime application for Windows that enables design and testing of GUIs without low-level coding. Last but not least, we offer a stable, human-readable control protocol for programming third-party touch-control systems such as AMX and Crestron." Dane Butcher, Symetrix Founder and CEO adds, "the level of control and DSP processing power that is harnessed in the Solus NX series will serve our customers well. Design and commissioning of robust audio processing along with user control device integration has never been easier or more cost effective."
www.symetrix.co
ENNOVATIONSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 37
PR Lighting Enlarges Xpar Family With Xpar 1012PR Lighting has further expanded its Xpar family with the addition of the new Arc LED unit, the Xpar 1012.
Adopting patented PR Lighting technology, the fixture combines 12 high powered 10W (RGBW 4-in-1) LEDs in a compact form factor.
The Xpar 1012 is also extremely versatile, offering many options; weighing just 10kg and silent in operation it will find its way into numerous applications, including outdoor use, since it has an IP67 protection rating.
Available with or without barn-doors, features include RGBW colour mixing (with macro); colour temperature of 2700K-10000K (linear correction); beam angle of 14° (with 10°, 20° and 40° options); dimmer 0-100% (linearly adjustable); strobe 0.5-33fps.
www.pr-lighting.com
ENNOVATIONSE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 39
Ayrton Dazzles With Industry's First Dynamic LED StrobeAyrton’s MagicBurst™ is the company’s first strobe unit, and the world’s only motorised strobe to offer continuous, unlimited rotation on its pan and tilt axes, which first burst onto the stage at Prolight + Sound 2016.
MagicBurst’s 384 x 384 mm squared face supports 3,840 high-output white LEDs grouped into 64 pixels on an 8 x 8 matrix. With a new, state-of-the-art, ultra-compact 1300W power supply, MagicBurst can deliver a peak light output of over 240,000 lumens – perfectly calibrated at 5600K - for several seconds, and put it into continuous rotation.
The strobe duration, speed and intensity of each LED pixel group can be individually controlled, and individual sections controlled to create graphic arrays, moving checker-boards, flashing letters, etc. MagicBurst also has a library of fixed images and pre-programmed dynamic effects.
MagicBurst has selectable Auto, Stage and Studio ventilation modes, with self-adjusting variable speed fans for quiet operation in Auto mode. Its extended serial connectivity means MagicBurst can be controlled via DMX-RDM, ArtNet™, sACN or a wireless link using CRMX TiMo RDM from LumenRadio™.
www.ayrton.eu
INTERVIEWE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 40
Stonewater And FaitalPRO: An OEM Collaboration
Over the years, the team behind Indian company "Stonewater" has been responsible for award winning products and has become the preferred choice of installation sound for many premium global brands in the hospitality, entertainment and retail industry within India. Stonewater comes with a rich technical heritage of over 42 years of experience with cutting edge innovation in the field of electronics and electro-mechanics. A strong R&D is coupled with a global manufacturing base that spans between Europe, China and India.
Specialising in loudspeaker development, their state-of-the-art laboratories are equipped with precision measuring equipment and the latest simulation software required for development. Their true asset however, is an enthusiastic team of brilliant engineers who bring with them decades of industry experience in India and Europe. The development team also includes professional musicians. Their keen sense for tone and balance allow to make the best use of both
machine-based objective testing, as well as the sensibilities of seasoned human experience in the engineering workflow.
We bring you a Q&A between Andrew Richardson of FaitalPRO and Vikram Shetty, Director of Stonewater Audio Labs. Andrew: Vikram, can you describe some key points of your business?Vikram: Drivers and other key technical components for our premium enclosures are manufactured in High Tech European, Japanese and American factories. The non technical parts like wooden enclosures, plastics, clamps etc are manufactured in India and China under strict quality control. Such a balanced spread of our manufacturing base, allows us to keep a tight handle on product cost while still delivering world class performance. The end result is that our customers do not need to pay more than they need to.
(L-R) Vikram Shetty with chief designer and founder Mahendra Palesha, Stonewater
E T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 41INTERVIEW
The Commercial Installation market in India is often blighted by equipment installed without the finesse and expertise that a good audio set-up requires. We believe that great products are only a step towards providing what the customer is ultimately after - a great audio experience. At Stonewater, an In-house team of specialists closely analyse the characteristics of the listening area and then, using that as the basis, decide on aspects such as the exact configuration of the equipment, position of speakers, cabling, acoustic treatment of the environment and various other elements that contribute to a truly rich audio experience. We believe that it is our holistic approach combined with a rigorous attention to detail that has won us the trust of numerous multinational customers. Our customer list includes reputed cafes, pubs, fitness centres, spas, houses of worship, malls, recreation centres, Bowling alleys, Holiday resorts and more.
Here is a partial List of our Pan India customers: Golds Gym, Starbucks, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Jamie's, Wendy's, Barista Coffee, Barbeque Nation, Absolute Barbeque, Snap Fitness, Apple Store, Nike, Tata, Louis Phillipe, Van Heussen, Levis, Cocoberry, Funcity recreation centres, Gloria Jeans Coffee, Sbarro Pizza, Subway Restaurants, F Beach House (F-Bar), Pouring Barrels, Sayaji Hotels Andrew: Who are your target clients?Vikram: In the first phase, we are looking at high end bars and clubs as our primary targets. In phase two we will look at high end rental companies. Andrew: What is your view of the pro audio market in India currently?Vikram: I think the Pro-Audio market in India is gradually evolving from a purely brand conscious to a quality conscious market. This is good news for us. A few years ago, people would buy a product just because its a western brand. Now I see that is changing steadily. Customers are increasingly basing their purchase decision more on the quality of the product and less on the geographic origin of the brand. Andrew: What do you think is the main reason behind your success as an Indian Brand in India?Vikram: The most significant factor that separates us from the rest of the Indian brands, is a truly world class in-house R&D department. Most Indian audio brands are little
more than traders buying finished products from China, re-badging them and selling them in the Indian markets. Stonewater on the other hand, from the very beginning has laid a huge emphasis on high quality research. This has led to products that not only perform well, but also address some very specific and peculiar needs of the Indian market.
A big part of the credit for nurturing this culture of innovation at Stonewater, goes to my business partner, chief designer and founder Mahendra Palesha, a technical genius who is always relentlessly looking at ways to better his last successful design, no matter how good that last design was. Andrew: How is the business atmosphere in your territory?Vikram: India is probably one of the world's most amazing and complex markets. High sensitivity to price and an extraordinary diversity in demographics are important factors to consider when one operates in the Indian markets. Just to give you an idea, we have over 1652 languages spoken in India. With that comes huge variations in culture and consumer behaviour too. One has to get the cost to quality ratio absolutely right. There is really not much room for error in this area. Like in any challenging environment, those that adapt the best tend to survive. Often times strategies that serve well in western markets yield very different results in India. Consider the case of Apple. In the US, the world's second largest Mobile Phone market, Apple enjoys an approximate 44 percent of market share. Whereas in India, the world's third largest mobile market, Apple has a measly 1 percent market share. This tells you an interesting story. Andrew: Why did you switch to FaitalPRO?Vikram: Getting the right cost to quality ratio had always been a priority for us.
For a while we had been working with some premium Chinese drivers in our products. They were the best available from Chinese manufacturers. These were drivers that would normally be used in European products in Entry-Level to Mid-Level segments.
The results were good, provided we had stringent quality measures of our own, in place. Good products and smart pricing combined with an intense focus on after sale service helped us earn a reputation as an honest brand that offered good sound at a fraction of the price of what
western brands demanded for the same performance. When this was achieved, we felt it was time to expand into higher segments. So we decided to launch a new range of products that competed with top end brands in terms of performance, but would be priced in the range of Mid-level products from western brands. We have a really good in house engineering/R&D department. However, even the best R&D in the world cannot result in good products unless your component quality matches up. This is why we decided to look at European suppliers. Finally we decided to go with FaitalPRO for a combination of reasons.
1. They have one of the most modern and high tech manufacturing facilities in the world today. This results in a high degree of manufacturing consistency.
2. Most of their products sound really great. The compression drivers in my opinion are really musical.
3. A very responsive and cooperative sales team. This is a very important but often neglected factor by many companies.
So we will continue to experiment with additional models and products from the company and look for a good affordable 18 Inch sub-woofer with higher sensitivity than what's currently available. Andrew: What is the overall impression and comments from your clients since making the change over to FaitalPRO components in your design enclosures?Vikram: Great performance with great consistency at hard to believe prices!
Andrew: Please share your comments on the "big picture" in relation to changing over to work together with FaitalPROVikram: Faital's capability to manufacture quality components when married to our strong in-house Research and Development strengths have led to the creation of some truly outstanding products. These products can easily compare with industry leading products in terms of performance. The fun part is, due to lower operating overheads of development and assembly in India, we can make them much more affordable to customers when compared to competing brands of foreign origin using similar quality components.
Partnering with FaitalPRO has certainly increased the prices of our products. But what has not been damaged is the Quality to Cost Ratio. In fact I would even argue that there has been a net improvement in the quality to cost ratio, despite the increase in prices.
Andrew: Any idea for future plans?Vikram: Currently we are busy setting up a larger, full fledged manufacturing facility in India. Within one year, leveraging on our partnership with FaitalPro, we are looking at building a range of Ultra High Performance loudspeakers in India and exporting them to Western and Middle Eastern markets.
www.stonewaterindia.comwww.faitalpro.com
E T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 42INTERVIEW
Micro 6 SX 118
EXHIBITION REVIEWE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 44
Palm Expo Expands, To ‘Deliver Business’by Ram Bhavanashi
PALM EXPO 2016 – the 16th edition of India’s premiere tradeshow on Pro Audio, Live and Install Sound, and Light – sought to scale up by further remodelling from
its previous editions, through some very specific initiatives on both quality and quantity. The result was visible across the show floor and booths that looked far more serious in business, with experientially less noise distraction, albeit a discordant note or two!
The latest edition of the popular PALM EXPO, held from May 26-28 at the Bombay Exhibition Ground in Mumbai, was a sort of pack of surprises. Pleasant for most, and wonderment for some though. For, it had some countable measures:
• The event had a separate hall - Hall 5 connected to Hall 1, that featured booths/exhibits focused on lighting effects, lasers, stage lighting, install lighting, lED displays, video projection. Hall 5 due to the nature of the exhibits did have audio playing out loudly though intermittently as after all how can you do a light show without music. In contrast Hall 1 that was dedicated for Audio, featured low, or NO sound ambience.
• It differentiated the MUSIC EXPO that had been an integral part of the event for long; henceforth, the MUSIC EXPO will no longer be part of the PALM EXPO.
• It introduced ‘paid’ entrance for all those who were not invited by the exhibitors and organizers. This straightaway meant filtration of non-serious crowds that had been a sort of pain for the event since beginning.
• The PALM Soundscape, and DJ Championship, as well as the IRAA Awards were organized, in a stand-alone structure – Hall 4 – at the VIP parking area.
• It had what is claimed as the largest LED display wall for an exhibition in the country, welcoming the visitors; displaying every day the programme highlights of the event and showcasing video promos of exhibitors
‘For the first time at PALM, we are seeing it so quiet, despite with visitors, with no noise chaos, that’s very heartening,’ was a sort of common expression from most Hall 5
EXHIBITION REVIEWE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 45
exhibitors. “We are now able to talk to our potential buyers with more focus, and even our visitors are happy about that,” said an exhibitor who had been regular at the event. “As an exhibitor that’s the least we expect, and we got it. That’s great.”
The twin-factors of strict enforcement of ‘NO-Sound’ regulation on exhibitors, and ‘paid entrance only’ had a very reassuring impact on the event, according to most. The glare of criss-crossing lighting and laser beams having moved to a different hall also helped the business to a good extent, since it also took away the milling crowds that normally get in for the sheer fancy of colour hazes.
Davinder Wadhwa, Chairman-Managing Director of the newly-carved out Modern Stage Services Pvt Ltd (Projects) – which as usual, had the largest booth space on the show floor – endorsed: “We didn’t want ‘jantha’ (commoners/non-serious visitors). We want people with whom we can talk and do business. That’s happening. What else!”Perhaps, that’s the best endorsement the 2016 edition of PALM could have. “Our strict enforcement of ‘NO-Sound Contract’ signed with the exhibitors, besides other big initiatives have paid off exceedingly well; exhibitors understood the importance of such a consensus and accepted it all so well. That itself marks a big stride for PALM,” explains Exhibition Director Ramesh Chetwani. “The show scored on many other fronts as well.”
That the show recorded 23,732 unique visitors compared to 18,607 visitors for the 2015 edition, despite the paid entry, showing an increase of over 20 per cent footfall, the growth indicator is taken to be very positive.
Anil Chopra, the event’s Director says about the event’s directions “we made a wise move by segregating the audio and light shows- thereby creating exclusivity for the domains and respective audiences. We are now rearing for further growth.”
Affirms Ramesh: “Our motto of ‘Delivering Business’ remains strongly focused. We are happy that the industry has supported us well, and we see growing together to achieve higher laurels as we move together.”
The New Attractions…
The PALM 2016 show floor, as usual, had its own attractions of ‘newcomers’ as well as new launches, besides
the biggies and regulars. Some of the most new attractions included:
• A 3D-in-3D projection mapping display by the newly carved Modern Stage Services Private Limited.
• Direct presence of two German audio majors, Adam Hall and beyerdynamic.
• ‘Made-in-India’ speakers from first timer Micro Electronics.
• Coming in of DPA microphones to Indian market.
• New musical bands and products taking centre stage at the Arenas.
Modern Stage Service Pvt Ltd created a stunning visual setting of 3D display on their spacious booth, with what they called ‘the world’s first of its kind 3D-in-3D’ demo of projection mapping. Bringing together the competence of three distinct visual solution players – Christie, Dataton and Infitec – the Delhi-headquartered entertainment conglomerate, in association with its visual solutions concern Video Designs, created truly mesmerizing visuals of 3D imaging within a matrix of yet another, larger 3D projection mapping setting.
“We wanted to bring something very unique to market this time; we found there is a great demand for such kind of solution,” said Davinder Wadhwa. According to him, no one in the world ever attempted something like what they did at PALM. “It’s a very unique solution that creates immense value at the place of its install,” Wadhwa explains. “Malls, Amusement and Theme Parks, Fashion pageants, Museums, Experience Centres etc. will look and feel differently with this solution.”
3D-in-3D demo by Modern Stage Srrvice Pvt Ltd
EXHIBITION REVIEWE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 46
Using six units of Christie’s 14,000 lumen DLP projectors, aligned in with Infitec’s 3D solution, and Dataton’s latest Media Servers, the MSS Pvt Ltd team weaved magical designs on the show floor.
Adam Hall, the German manufacturing and distribution conglomerate, having been at the event for many years through its local partners, chose to have its direct presence this year. The company marked its coming by highlighting its brand ranges that included Gravity microphone stands; analogue VIBZ mixer; Maui5, and Curv 500 LD systems. The company also displayed a range of stage systems and hardware solutions.
Another German audio major beyerdynamic, which had also been showing its solutions through its local partners all these years, made an independent presence this time, indicating the audio major’s faith in the PALM platform, as well as its growing business in the country. “We have made some impressive business growth over the past years in this region,” said Robert Winterhoff, beyerdynamic’s Managing Director, Global Sales & Marketing. “It’s been our strong commitment to India, and the market has been quite promising,. It’s like demonstrating our commitment to the market through our direct presence here.”
The company exhibited TG1000 wireless microphone system that brings the huge advantage of big bandwidth of 319 mhz, and charging contacts and the new measurement capsule TG mm1W to calibrate ELA and PA systems. However, brand new on their booth was the drum microphone TG D71C. The boundary microphone complements beyer’s legendary drum microphone Series with a high impulse fidelity, quick-responding attack and maximum sound pressure Level. The company also showed microphones in the real application: the legendary M88
touring gear Series. Also new was the DT1770 coming with Tesla 2.0 technology.
Micro Electronics, coming for the first time to the PALM Expo, launched a sizable range of new speakers under ‘Made in India’ tag. Some of them included the 15FH510, 15FW76, and 15MT76 mid-range woofers, besides a few more high-end woofer models.
PALM Expo 2016 also became a platform for introduction of DPA microphone systems to Indian market through Bengaluru-based audio-distributor Ansata. The company demonstrated a range of DPA solutions on its booth, as a highlight of its show.
A very important aspect of Indian Pro Audio entrepreneurism that came out on the floor of the PALM Expo, but not highlighted though, was the Vardhaman Megatech (VMT) of the Vardhaman Group’s major initiative- of acquiring majority ownership stake in the British audio brand OHM. While the audio major exhibited on the floor, its latest ranges under its BRT installation series, and GL-15 Line Array series, beside others, the top ranks of the companies disclosed that VMT will re-orientate the British brand, with more custom developed product ranges and marketing. (Read more about it here (link to E-newsletter).
Other audio manufacturing majors such as Bose, Electro-Voice, Harman, Music Group, Neutrik, Sennheiser, and Yamaha directly showcased their latest ranges, followed by the distribution majors such as Ansata, Dev Electronics, GM Audio, Hi-Tech Audio, Narain, Pro Musicals, Sound Team, and SunInfoNet - all brought to the show floor their latest ranges. Some of the products appeared really incredible, and more they attracted quite a good amount of attention and appreciation from visitors.
Bose Professional demonstrated its F1 Flexible Line Array systems, and L1 Portable PA systems as highlights of its show. F1, said to be the first powered portable loudspeaker that lets the users control its vertical coverage pattern, can be adapted to the PA of the space, irrespective of playing at floor level, on a stage or facing raked seats or bleachers.
The L1 system, said to be Bose’s smallest, lightest and easiest-to-set-up system weighing just 29 pounds, combines conventional PA and monitors into one sleek unit. Positioned behind or to the side of a performer, DJ or presenter, it promises to deliver wide, even sound coverage
The beyerdynamic local and German team
EXHIBITION REVIEWE T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 47
throughout the stage area and audience—even off to the extreme sides.
Electro-Voice brought to PALM their recent, and popular ND Series microphones and the X-line Line Array systems. Launched initially at the NAMM 2016 in Anaheim early this year, the ND Series, coming as it did as successors to the N/Dym Series is designed for live performances and studio applications. 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. The series features dent-resistant Memraflex grilles, humbucking coils to guard against EMF noise and shock-mounted capsules to minimize handling noise.
HARMAN, as usual, brought to show a wide basket of solutions, and sought to hog the limelight with a slew of product and programming offerings. On product front, it had a unit or two from all its group concerns that were highlighted by some incredible products. The most notable, among the many included the Soundcraft Ui16 digital mixing system that comes in a compact, road-rugged stagebox format, with built-in Wi-Fi and ability to be controlled by any connected device via a standard web browser- no Apps, no OS limitations, no constraints on how or where one mixes from. The platform-agnostic device – compatible with iOS, Andoid, Windows, Mac, and Linux – can use up to 10 control devices simultaneously. Besides, it features built-in HARMAN signal processing from dbx, DigiTech and Lexicon, including dbx AFS2, DigiTech Amp. While this unit is characterized by its sheer portability, Soundcraft’s largest and latest offering, that actually took the centrestage on HARMAN’s booth was the Vi7000 digital mixing console that promises to deliver the best ever Vi sound ever. Displayed for the first time for Indian market,
the Vi7000 packages ultra-low noise mic amp designs and enhanced 96kHz 40-bit floating point digital audio processing, while FX comes courtesy of 8 independent Lexicon multi-FX units, BSS DPR901ii integration and a BSS graphic EQ on every bus output.
Music Group exhibited a whole big range from across its brands, that were highlighted with their ‘technology innovation’ award winning iQ-15 portable loudspeaker, that comes with 2500 Watt power, Klark Teknik DSP technology, and Ultranet networking. Music Group demonstrated, besides the iQ Series, the iP Series from Turbosound, and those from its constituent brands.
Sennheiser brought to show its latest HD headphones. The audio major also highlighted its popular Evolution Wireless D1 digital transmission system; the KH 805 active studio subwoofer, and the TLM 107 microphone, among others.Yamaha Music India, continuing its last year’s initiative of separate, and large show, outside the main hall, exhibited its ranges of mixing consoles, MI and PA systems. The highlights of the show included the MA2120 and PA2120 switchable Class-D mixer amplifiers, the PX series power amplifiers, and the Tio1608-D Dante-equipped I/O rack.
Distribution Majors...Hi-Tech Audio systems, brought to show its ranges from its principals- Bose, DiGiCo, Koltz, L-Acoustics, RCF and Sennheiser.
Sun Infonet, another Delhi-based major, highlighted its show with solutions from its principals - Allen & Heath, Nexo, Quest and Shure. The products demoed included the GLD Chrome Edition digital mixing systems, and the ZED series analog mixers from Allen & Heath; the new plug-n-play Motive microphone series, and the industry’s first ever dual-diaphragm hand-held microphone KSM8 Dualdyne from Shure; and the QM-Series and MX Series monitors from Quest Engineering.
Hall 5, on the other hand, had industry majors such as Osram, and Canara Lighting, besides a slew of distribution entities that have been regular with the PALM event.
www.palmexpo.in
HARMAN Continues To Rock Live Arena With New Endorsees
Continuing its tradition of encouraging new, emerging, and young talents from the musical industry, HARMAN introduced singers Hamsika Iyer, Shibani
Kashyap and Shweta Pandit as its new brand ambassadors. Hamsika Iyer is a well-known playback singer and performing artist with popular songs like Chammak Challo and Chanda Re to her credit. Shibani is a singer-composer, who earned her fame anchoring the singer hunt show – The Bathroom Singer. And Shweta Pandit is a renowned Bollywood playback artist and popular for singing tracks from movies including Mohabbatein, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Highway.
Hamsika, in her mesmerizing best voice, enthralled the crowds with her renderings, independently, as well as, in the company of Kaushal S Inamdar – her partner in the now fancied Ras Yatra band. Crooning in different genres, and with variety of timbre, the Kashi girl who made waves with Chammak Challo and Chanda Re in Bollywood, took the audiences with rapturous applauds. Popular singer Mihir Joshi did the honours of introducing the Ras Yatra duo, and band to the Live Arena audiences.
While the day one of the Live Arena began with Hamsika and Kaushal, rest of the programming included Sivamani, Ranjit Barot, Mihir Joshi, Clinton Cerejo, Kabir’s Cafe and Sunitha Sarathy.
“HARMAN is excited to introduce the next generation of professional solutions to the Indian market with industry-defining innovations that elevate the experience of recorded and live performances,” said Prashant Govindan, Senior Director-Professional Solutions, HARMAN India and Sri Lanka. “At HARMAN, our success is defined by how well we serve both the artists who make the music and their fans who want to enjoy their favourite songs, no matter where they are or how they are listening,”
he explained. “We are extremely proud to add Hamsika Iyer, Shibani Kashyap and Shweta Pandit as HARMAN brand ambassadors who will help us further perfect our technologies and inspire music lovers everywhere to choose the best in sound– HARMAN,” he added.
Says Shweta Pandit: “from studio to the stage, HARMAN’s innovative technologies and products help artists sound their best. I look forward to a great musical partnership with HARMAN.”
“I’m delighted to partner with a company like HARMAN on my musical journey,” adds Shibani. “Products like the JBL EON One and the DigiTech TRIO+ are ideal companions for solo performing artists like me.”
www.harman.com
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Ras Yatra band compressing of Kaushal S Inamdar and Hamsika Iyer
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Delivering A Sound Performance At The KEA Prabhath Rangamandira
INDIA
Prabath Enterprises relies on the Bosch EVF Series to attain the perfect coverage
Prabhath Enterprises is a well-known name in the industry when it comes to designing and building state-of-the-art auditoriums. As a subsidiary of
50-year-old establishment ‘Prabhath Sound System’, the enterprise has been setting the stage for winning cultural performances for over two decades.
Its innovative multi-purpose auditorium, KEA Prabhath Rangamandira, located at the heart of West Bangalore, stands as a clear testament to the team’s skills and expertise. The facility is housed in the KEA complex and boasts a 300-seater auditorium, a rehearsal and dining hall as well as luxury accommodations.
In efforts to expand its presence, Prabhath Enterprises embarked on a new project – taking over an existing auditorium and completely refurbishing it with a state-of-the-art sound system. To that end, the client turned to Bosch. Having worked with Bosch on previous sound installations and witnessed first-hand the superior sounds of its product, particularly the Electro Voice EVF series of loudspeakers, Prabhath Enterprises knew that this product range was the natural – and sole choice – for its new auditorium. It was planning to have a full-size arrayable
setup that would provide full sound coverage and deliver complete sonic clarity to the entire hall.
Unfortunately, the auditorium’s low ceilings posed a problem. Such ceilings resulted in a smaller coverage for each speaker and typically required a greater number of speakers to ensure a uniform sound.
To get around this difficulty, Bosch recommended the 12” EVF series of speakers as an ideal alternative and
proposed installing two EVF2151D and dual 15” subwoofers to cater for low-end frequencies in the auditorium. Completing the set-up were the ELX series powered stage monitors, Q series amplifiers, DC-One DSP and N/D series EV microphones.
The Bosch team also worked closely with M/S Maastek, the sound installer, on an Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers (EASE) model to ascertain the exact placement for the two EVF speakers that were to be placed in the hall.The perfect positioning of the EVF speakers on either sides of the room also resolved the issue of inadequate sound coverage, resulting in an even dispersion of audio.
Overall, Bosch’s customised solutions and close collaboration with the sound installer enabled Prabhath Enterprises to overcome its logistical constraints and deliver superior sound and perfect fidelity without compromising quality.
With the new audio system in place, the auditorium is set to be the go-to venue for every live act.
www.boschsecurity.asia
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L-Acoustics ARCS WiFo Brings International Clubbing Excellence To India’s Block 22 Nightclub
INDIA
Hyderabad nightspot sees the first X Series install in India
When renowned club owners Mudassar Muneer and Anand Yadav set out to build a brand new 500-capacity nightclub, they knew they wanted
to bring the very best elements of international clubbing to Hyderabad’s posh HiTechCity. With the mission of giving the city a genuinely outstanding social hub, they brought their many years of travel seeking out the world’s best clubbing experiences back to India.
During their research, Muneer and Yadav had been impressed by the L-Acoustics sound systems and especially in the blueFROG chain’s live music clubs in Mumbai and Pune, both of which were installed by Mumbai-based Munro Acoustics LLP. They asked Munro to design and install an L-Acoustics sound system at Block 22.
“The idea for Block 22 was to bring Ibiza and Vegas style chic to India, delivering a supreme aural and visual
experience,” said Munro Specialist Consultant Kapil Thirwani. “We had already used L-Acoustics systems in the blueFROG venues and Muneer and Yadav had also heard one of the company’s systems at the Tomorrowland festival in Belgium. We all agreed that L-Acoustics had the right products to fulfil the brief of having ‘the world’s best sound’ at Block 22.”
The venue features a main space, two VIP areas and an elevated DJ booth. Showcasing a range of music styles, the club hosts regular live DJ sets and aims to schedule an increasing number of international performers.
“Our brief was to deliver impeccable sound and great acoustics,” said Kapil. “We have a reputation for bringing out the best in venues and we knew L-Acoustics would be the right solution. Because the venue has a high ceiling, the generic solution would be to use line array. However, we
E T A J u l y 2 0 1 6 51PROJECTS
wanted a relatively short throw with wide coverage so we chose the ARCS WiFo system. We were surprised how good the LF contour is when combined with the SB18 subs.”
The system features main clusters of three ARCS WiFo, one wide and two focus either side, and two SB18 subs per side, four SB28 subs for the dance floor and four of L-Acoustics new X12 cabinets, which have an ellipsoid directivity of 90° x 60°, making them ideal for fills for the mezzanine VIP area which, due to the slope of the roof, has a restricted height. The system is powered by LA4X and LA8 amplifier controllers.
“The biggest issue we faced was ensuring maximum noise isolation in the roof, as it is made of tin sheets. This was achieved by using secondary isolation, with the razor-sharp focus of the ARCS system also helping to contain the sound,” said Kapil. “The result is an astonishing venue with
good acoustics and fantastic sound. It’s also the first ever L-Acoustics X12s installed in India.”
With people coming from hundreds of kilometres away - as far afield as Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai - to enjoy Block22, clubbers seem to share that opinion.
"I was speechless when I heard the L-Acoustics system for the first time in the club,” said co-owner Mudasser. “It was an amazing experience. The sound is crystal clear and the performance is outright massive!"
Anand agreed, adding "I love the mid-highs, they are impeccably clear and the lows provide that all-important ‘thump’ wherever you stand in the club. L-Acoustics systems are so powerful, they amaze me every time I hear them.”
www.l-acoustics.com
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MLA Family Takes Hakataza Theatre Upgrade Into A New Dimension
JAPAN
Consistency and clarity wins the day for MLA
Situated in Hakata city, the Hakataza Theatre in the Fukuoka Prefecture — one of the most famous musical theatres in Japan — has been renovated after
16 years in order to meet complex acoustical demands for events such as Kabuki, Musicals and Theatrical shows.
Several premium systems were trialled over a nearly five-year period before Martin Audio’s MLA family was given approval. As a result, 11 elements of MLA Compact are hung left and right of the proscenium along with DSX sub, and eight MLA Mini have been deployed as an L/C/R centre cluster.
To cover the remaining areas (including under-balcony) a further 73 Martin Audio DD6 have been specified.
The sound engineer, Mr Noguchi from Music Reserve Inc, stated, “Our top priority is delivering perfect sound to the entire audience. In Hakataza Theatre we have to cater for many kinds of programme and in the past we have experienced shortcomings in the sound with some productions and presentations. The MLA family has overcome that and given me an innovative way to deliver consistent sound throughout the auditorium.”
MLA Compact has been designed to fire sound evenly into the three tiers of the theatre, using special optimisations. With the elements optimised in groups — to cover top to bottom tiers — Mr Noguchi stated that the Preset function was very useful when changing the optimisations depending on the production. “The distributed DD6s then help not only to cover the audience area but also maintain the character of sound. The Differential Dispersion horn on the DD6 delivers high clarity from the front to back seats, and therefore there is no compromise whatsoever in this new system.”
A second engineer, Mr Tsubone, also added his endorsement to the MLA
system. “It is essential that every audience, no mater what the performance, receives consistency and clarity from the stage performers. This was our key priority when choosing the system. MLA achieves this perfectly — even when the voice is whispering through micro-microphones, it not only delivers consistent frequency response but also has a capability to control the non-audience area. This is helpful for the engineer operating microphones to ensure the important dialogue is delivered audibly to the audience during the show.
“MLA is unique in this respect — in my opinion no other brand can do this.”
Summing up, he said, “The choice of this system was extremely important for us — it means we now have the ability to control the sound pressure level for whole audience area, suited to every type of programme. No matter where each member of the audience is seated, consistent sound will be delivered. I have never experienced anything like this degree of functionality ever before — It is overwhelming.”
www.martin-audio.com
Palm Expo ETA 145x193_A path.indd 1 16/6/16 5:17 PM
The longest running and most established networking tradeshow on Pro Audio, Light, Music & Technology returns on the 1st - 4th September at the China International Exhibition Centre, OLD (CIEC); bringing you a whole new level of experience during the 3 and ½ days event. PALM Expo will open her door from 9.00am to 5.00pm daily from the 1st to 3rd September and on the last day (4th September) will end by 12:00 noon with last admission at 11:00am. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of PALM Expo and the organizing committee together with the invited guests; will be commemorating this memorable milestone with a big bang during the tradeshow. An estimated number of over 1650 guests will be invited to the celebration dinner; with selected high-end brands in the industry putting up a Lighting and Audio show at the dinner; specially choreographed by the renowned Lighting Designer, Mr. Sha Xiao Lan and his team.
Look out for the series of award winners for the following categories during the Anniversary dinner. A panel of judges make up from the industry experts has been elected to select the winners in addition to the online voting which will be closed on 8th July 2016. The winners of the various categories will be announced at the dinner.
China's performing art industry meritorious figure
China's performing art industry outstanding contribution leaders
China's performing art industry most valuable brands
China's performing art industry innovative enterprises
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Recent market research revealed upon reaching a new height in China’s economy, Beijing - city well known for her rich Culture and Art market went uphill. The industry was measured 279.43 billion worth in 2014, a jump by 8.4 percent compared to 2013. From statistics shown, the Academy in Arts grew more than 10 music conservations and over 50 universities offered Art degree, professional troupes and performance groups expanded to 90 numbers, thousands of training institution in Music, over 300 qualities and 120 above standard performance venues that fetched a total revenue of CNY ¥ 1.5 billion – topped record in box office with 295 stages and sitting 10.1 million in 2014. Facilities without exception is segregated into 20 public arts and centers, 300 stations broadcasted approximately 30,000 events welcoming more than 6 million visitors annually. Besides, Beijing hold over 150 cinemas and 800 screens knowing China is the second largest film market worldwide.
As of 2020, 20 culture and creative industry zones in threatre play, music world, film and television production shall be planned and constructed, expanding its development in Beijing as China’s hub of culture and crossing of countries for publicity to widen business opportunities.
“NOT JUST UPSELLING
BUT FOCUS ON CAPITAL RETURN”
Another highlight at PALM Expo; the annual conference will be taking place on 31st August at the Radisson Blu Hotel Ballroom and the main focus of this year conference theme is on Application of New technology at Performing art venues. International speakers from America and Germany will be speaking and highlight the latest insights on performance art venues technology during the conference, in addition to local industry expert from China Attendees to the event is BY INVITATION ONLY!
Over 200 representatives from the following sectors: performing arts venue, theater groups, architectural firms, cultural and creative companies, designers of entertainment equipment institutions and enterprises, technical application personnel and related art research, professional institutions students and teachers, have confirmed their attendance and this year delegates have a better mix from various countries such as United States, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, China and ten other countries to-date.
UP-TO-DATE NEWS ON ‘BUDDING’ SECTORS
Occupying a total exhibition space of 40, 000 m² with more than 600 exhibiting companies from over 20 countries and regions, PALM Expo 2016 continues to play host to the industry leading brands both local and international alike. Perennial favorites like Allen & Heath, Christie, dnp, Extron, JBL, d&b audiotechnik, Electronic Threatre Control, High End Systems, ART, Avolites, Coef, EAW, RCF, Running man, Powersoft, Wharfedale, KE Audio, KS Audio, Meyer sound, LAX, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic and Yamaha, SBS, Antari Lighting, Columbus Mckinnon, Montarbo, Wolf Vision and Beta 3 etc, to name just a few, will be displaying their latest products and technologies at the show floors.
Log on to our website for more details about these brands at PALM Expo.
The above sectors have been earmarked as future growth segments in the next few years with abundant of business opportunities waiting for industry players to capitalize.
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HOW PARTICIPANTS REACT?
WHAT INFORMATION IS ABSORBED?
HOW CAN IT BE APPLIED?
IMPACT FROM DISCUSSION
ROI RESULTS
PALM EXPO is jointly organised by Informa Global Exhibitions and the China Entertainment Technology Association (CETA), exclusive social organization in Ministry of Culture, People’s Republic of China, and authorized representative under the entertainment solutions of China, guiding the economy and technical evolution in related trade.
To encourage continual learning and enhance visitors experience, PALM Expo has collaborated with exhibiting companies to provide free technical seminars on new products and products workshop for trade visitors at the General Service Building.
To-date over 20 sessions has been confirmed and further details will be made available nearer to show dates.
Visitors’ Pre-registration will be opened on 15th July onward! Log onto our website http://www.palmexpo.net
to register now for a hassle-free entry at the Show floor.
Attractive hotel prices are available for limited period of time, take advantage of the special rates and
JOIN US NOW! For another spectacular PALM EXPO 2016!
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Large-scale Projection Mapping And Design At Vivid Sydney 2016
AUSTRALIA
TDC once again dazzles audiences with projection mapping at nine sites
Video Projection CloseupsTDC relished the huge logistical challenge of coordinating nine sites:• 70 video projectors, from 40,000 lumens through to
22,000 lumens.• Over 30 technical staff employed full time.• 11 kilometers of projection.• 20 million pixels equivalent to over 60 IMAX screens.• 20 kilometers of signal and power cables.• 22 media servers.• 3 different automation platforms servers running on
unique software code.• All sites remotely monitored with realtime remote
reporting.• A total light output of 1,750,000 ANSI lumens
brightness.• Ensuring energy efficiency, equipment is powered every
night but on-standby during the day.• Impressive 800GB video footage being played back
continuously.
The Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art (c) Danny Rose
Once again TDC – Technical Direction Company’s technical wizardry dazzled audiences of millions at Vivid Sydney. In 2016 the world’s largest spectacle
of light, video and music was extended from 18 days to 23 days, breaking records for city-wide video projections over nine sites including the Royal Botanic Garden and Taronga Zoo.
Michael Hassett, CEO at TDC said: “TDC works on the latest in projection and interactive technologies for Vivid for a total of 11 months prior to the event, collaboratively engaging with all project stakeholders in enabling the artists’ creative imaginations to be writ across the skyline.”
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Drew Ferors, a senior engineer, highlights, “Vivid Sydney enabled us to continuously develop and research “TDC Live View” software that we’ve written to monitor the performance of all the projection equipment. We installed sensors to measure even variables like temperature. 24/7 TDC Live View manages the integrity of projectors sending an alert in real-time if there’s unforeseen issues providing critical technical updates remotely.”
Steve Cain, head engineer said: “Managing the animations we used d3 technologies media servers for a number of our sites this year. Two features that d3 media servers offers is 3D visualisation and footprint features to show ‘hotspots’ and ‘coldspots’ in projection mapping areas. It makes my life so much easier. The software is from the lighting design world so is a great tool. We can visually represent the object or building using a 3D fly-through showing how the projection will be laid out on the site to the millimetre of accuracy. “This was particularly useful for when we worked at Taronga Zoo where we had to alter projector tower locations. Working in 3D we could move the projection towers and see the results instantly.”
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Laser-Dragon Water TheatreTDC provided video projection onto three water-screens that were mounted on a 13m robotic arm floating high above 56 fountains, arranged in snake-like coils. The moving water screen can take the shape of a fearsome dragon or any of the characters taken from Commedia Dell’Arte’s 16th century theatre.
Olin Winton, technical manager said: “Water screen projection ran three different shows every night and a fun feature was the Intel Realsense 3D facial recognition technology that captured the surprised faces of visitors seeing themselves displayed on the water screens.”
X-Factory, Central Park SydneyThe façade of Sydney’s first brewery, Carlton & United Brewery, was once again given a dramatic makeover by TDC. “We’ provided projection technology and mapping to a building that is roughly 45 by 30 meters,” enthusiastically explained Anthony Pellizzari, enjoying being back at this site for 2016.
Nicholas Tory, director at Ample projects said: “Our 3D content showcased the great shift from human labour to computation in the dynamic factory from how it once was, to exploring how technology is changing the Factory as a human workplace. We worked with video masters, TDC, to pinpoint the exact locations and coverage for our content.” Ample Projects also worked in conjunction with a group of University of Technology students who produced over 30 minutes of additional content for the Central Park precinct.
Taronga ZooFor the first time, Vivid Sydney incorporated Taronga Zoo Centenary Celebrations.
Visitors were welcomed by a grand projection onto the façade of Taronga’s heritage listed main entrance building. Ample Projects eight-minute long projection show and 3D mapping had been created by its multi-award winning artists and the projection technology and mapping provided by TDC.
Sydney’s Hidden Stories - TDC, Spinifex and Huwaei
Taronga Zoo
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Steve Cain added: “We projected onto the ground to add depth using bugs and critters. Due to the nature of sculptures and trees, we used ultra-short-throw lenses on our projectors. It was technically challenging from that point of view. We used Ample Projects’ 3D modelling for the entire site prior to the project using the d3 4by4pro Media Server and the results speak for themselves.”
Royal Botanic GardenProjections at the Royal Botanic Garden presented a fresh challenge for TDC in terms of media serving and engineering. The projections incorporated Ample Projects’ 3D scans and mapping onto the giant Moreton Bay fig trees. As Vivid’s Creative director, Ignatius Jones, noted: “We did something at the Royal Botanic Garden that’s never been done before by projecting videos onto the giant fig trees. Many said that’s not possible, but when we did the test we were totally blown away. The texture of the leaves with the projection on them was extraordinary.”
Pete Lynn, Technical Project Manager, TDC said: “There are three different areas throughout the gardens that we have projected onto. Mapping non traditional surfaces such as enormous trees has been really exciting and we are thrilled with the results.”
The Matter of PaintingThe Museum of Contemporary Art at The Rocks once again served as a canvas for one of Vivid Sydney’s illuminated artwork. Western Sydney artist, Huseyin Sami, joined forces with Paris-based artistic collective, Danny Rose, to create the illusion that the facade is actually being carved, painted, cut and brushed during the presentation.
Steve Cain said: “I really love the colour and vibrancy of this installation. The challenges for this site are multiple angles, trees, and returns, which we’ve managed to map accurately. This is a stunning building to project onto which is a light coloured sandstone. The shape is really interesting for projection too.
“Here, we used high-powered projectors and media serving. However not every project uses bells and whistles. Sometimes a simpler approach gives great results.” Cain added: “We love the old buildings so we broke all records in terms of set up, having projection mapping completed in just 1.5 hours. New buildings and objects challenge us which is the best way to learn things.”
Sergio Carrubba, managing director at Danny Rose added: “Working with TDC’s highly experienced team is always enjoyable and gives us assurances of the best possible outcome.”
IMPOSSIBLE VoyageAt the historic Cadmans Cottage, spectators were treated to a magnificent interactive adventure. Visuals and projection were by Propaganda Mill. A 10-metre performance area was transformed into the bow of a vessel, taking visitors on a voyage through a magical portal to a mysterious land. The installation takes visual input from across the full width of the building and the graphics evolve in real time depending on the interaction of participants.
In terms of projection, Olin Winton explained: “We kept low profile viewing angles up as much as possible as it is a small building.”
Royal Botanic GardenRoyal Botanic Garden
Sydney Harbour Bridge
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Sydney’s Hidden StoriesThis year TDC and Spinifex Group took projection mapping to the next level!
A new Reality Viewing Platform used Huawei’s latest smartphones and tablets in an amazing augmented reality experience at Custom House with visuals created by Spinifex Group. After conducting a site survey of Customs House at Sydney Harbour, TDC created a 3D model of the building to plan a giant projection area of 32 by 18 metres. Spinifex Group delivered a 6 minutes fun filled action packed animation that maps to the building, using its intricate architecture, as well as additional content only visible through the Huawei devices positioned on a podium in front of the projection tower, creating a unique Augmented Reality experience.
Cyril De Baecque, Managing Director at Spinifex Group said: “TDC worked with our interactive department to synchronise the content using the world clock so that the projection on the building aligns with the content on the Huawei devices played through a Unity based app developed by Spinifex Group.”
Jeremy Mitchell, Director, Corporate and Public Affairs at Huawei added: “Companies like TDC have achieved outstanding results with our technology in this installation. We are delighted with the results!”
Jaguar LaunchThe artistic presence of Jaguar at Martin Place left car lovers and newcomers alike in awe of the artwork created by Spinifex Group using an array of LED screens and
mapped projections onto the new F-PACE, with projections that are audience activated. Anthony Pellizzari, Technical Project Manager at TDC said: “The concept for this project created working with Spark 44 and Spinifix gave us the opportunity to demonstrate our technical skills in mapping geometric objects. The added dimension of surrounding the car with LED really adds depth of field, and complete automation really let us stretch our technical skills, and we were really happy with the results. This is probably a first for an audience to experience this type of technology in a public space where they get to become part of the experience. Gauging the public reaction, this use of technology and creative really appealed to all ages.
Cyril De Baecque, Managing Director at Spinifex Group said: “We worked with TDC to create a 3D environment for our artwork for perfect alignment using a jewellery box and union jack theme.”
www.tdc.com.au
Impossible Voyage at Cadmans Cottage
Jaguar Launch
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Mandylights Use W-DMX™ At Taronga Zoo For Vivid Sidney
In line with Vivid Sydney, the Taronga Zoo, was lit up with a trail of giant animal multimedia light sculptures.
The project was created by Ample Projects, with interactive lighting, sound effects and moving parts. The sculptures were presented with a great technologically advanced setup – the tender was won by Mandylights who created a colourful and atmospheric setting for the sculptures.
“The zoo is basically pitch black at night and in many areas we really had to start from scratch,” commented Richard Neville of Mandylights. “There were some areas where we had complete free reign and others where we were complementing the lanterns.”
Crucial to the lighting design were 130 x ShowPro Hex 18 LED PARs and 24 x ShowPro EX36 LED Floods, both of which have an IP65 rating. The PARS provide a solid base of colour for the entire site onto which Mandylights layered more lighting.
Due to the sheer amount of foot traffic during the day, and now the night, at the zoo, there were many places where
cable ramps could not be run across the ground. There are also several vehicles used in the zoo, such as the elephant transporter, that are higher than your average road vehicle so running cables higher up was a problem too.
“This is where Wireless Solutions W-DMX was invaluable,” stated Richard. “It just does a series of hops around the park into really difficult to reach places.”
In total there were 4x BlackBox F-2 MKII with directional antennas and 16x Micro R-512 receivers, all plug & play. The Wireless system controlled most of the LED Pars, wash fixtures, moving-lights and dimmers around the park.
“This project would not have been achievable without W-DMX™ from Wireless Solution”, concluded Richard.
Wireless Solution is distributed and supported in Australia by Show Technology.
www.wirelessdmx.com
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Seoul World DJ Festival Grows With Nexo Systems
SOUTH KOREA
Way Audio appointed for the 10th year in a row to support the festival
In Seoul, NEXO STM line arrays were deployed for a record-breaking event for SWDF. Now one of the biggest outdoor music festivals in Asia, this was also
the tenth show anniversary for sound rental provider Way Audio, which has built a strong relationship between NEXO and this spectacular EDM party.
The Seoul World DJ Festival (SWDF), which kicks off Korea’s music event calendar, has been growing in strength every year, since its first edition in 2007. Today, it attracts some of the best EDM DJs in the world, and transforms the
town of Chuncheon and its Song-Am Sports Complex. This year’s bill included Blasterjaxx, Tomswon, Julian Jordan and KSHMR.
In 2016, an important liaison was made with influential EDM producers Q Dance from Holland (Qlimax, Defqon, Tomorrowland) who collaborated on this year’s festival. Q Dance brought its hallmarks of dynamic staging, pyro and impressive sound/lighting to the stadium, as well as two well-known DJs from its stable, Atmozfear and Noisecontroller.
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Leading sound rental company Way Audio handles the PA requirement for the World DJ Festival, the only production supplier to keep its contract for the full ten years. As the event has grown, so too have the PA designs. Way Audio was an early pioneer of NEXO’s STM modular line array systems, which have proved ideal for the EDM material and stadium location of the SWDF.
This year, Way Audio implemented one of the largest STM system configurations, using arrays of 21 x STM M46 main plus B112 bass cabinets, delivering high SPL coverage over the wide audience area. 21 x STM S118 subs, ground-stacked on each side, were boosted by another 12 x CD18 subs in front of the centre stage, to provide “a goose bumps performance”, according to James Lee of A-Works, the NEXO distributor and support centre in Korea.
The on-stage monitoring is all important for the star DJs at the SWDF, and the system of choice is ground-stacks
of STM, each built with 3 x STM M28 compact modules on top of a S118 sub. Often informally referred to as “Texas headphones”, these ground-stacks are supplemented by NEXO PS15s. The entire PA system is powered by NEXO’s Universal Amp Racks (11 x NUARs), each containing two NXAMP4x4 amplifiers.
For James Lee, the best victory of the show was in the verdict of the Q Dance team, currently on a world tour and using NEXO STM for the first time. “The Q Dance team usually get the system they ask for on their rider, and were a bit suspicious when they saw NEXO STM for the first time. But the show was such a success, they gave it the thumbs-up!” The crowd certainly approved - according to James, hardly anyone left the sound field for 3 hours, not even for a toilet-break!
www.nexo.frwww.wayaudio.co.kr
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The Music Run 2016SINGAPORE
Stagemaker SR10 Double Brake Hoist System Helps Ease Setting-Up of Truss System For Stage
One of the most anticipated runs in Singapore, The Music Run combines music and sports in one fun event. Held in April and organized by AIA, the event
drew wide attention from music and sport enthusiasts around Singapore. The Music Run was designed to encourage participants to live a healthy life with the help of music as a source of motivation. Furthermore, organizers engaged with the participants by giving them the privilege to vote for the songs that will be played at the event.
Known as a music sport event, the organizers placed emphasis on the stage, sound and lighting equipment. Singapore’s Titans Music Productions (TMP) took the responsibility of providing the best equipment for the event. TMP, a company that has been in the professional AV industry since 1993 has been involved in providing their services to a wide variety of clients in Singapore.
With multiple checkpoints throughout the run, participants were exposed to different music genres in each segment of the 5km run. The main attraction at the finish line was the main stage. One of TMP's biggest task during installation of the main stage was the hoisting of the truss system. In order to hoist up the truss that carries a good amount of line array speakers and lighting fixtures, TMP used a total of at least 10 units of 1 Ton Chain Hoist Stagemaker SR10 Double Brake to hoist up their truss system.
“It was definitely a challenging moment during our setup. We needed a hoist system that was capable of hoisting up that amount of weight. The 1 Ton Chain Hoist Stagemaker
SR10 was definitely the right choice in hoisting up our truss,” mentioned Taufiq, TMP’s owner. “The hoist looks hardy as well as sexy with its retractable handle bars and rubberised corners. Definitely an eye candy from a far. You would be able to recognise it from a distance. I believe it is one of the quietest hoist around as it did not create much noise as it was lifting the truss systems. The working of it was smooth and clean, something I could rely on. Sometimes it’s even worrying because you may not even realise that the hoist is actually working,” continued Taufiq.
Aside from the hoist system, L-Acoustic professional speakers were used in The Music Run 2016. 16 units of L-Acoustic Kudos, 10 units of L-Acoustic SB28 Sub Bass, 4 units of L-Acoustic Arcs Full Range speaker were used as Front Fill and 8 units of L-Acoustic MTDs Full Range speakers were used as monitors at the main stage and key areas. These speakers were able to cover the key areas of the event bringing hype to the participants during their run. As for the lighting fixtures that evening, TMP used 36 units of Clair Lighting M280 moving head, 12 units of Clay Paky Alpha Wash 700, 12 units of Clay Paky Alpha Beam 700 moving head as the main lighting product to light up the event.
Overall the event was a significant success for TMP and AIA as the turn up rate was great and they received positive feedbacks.
www.acousticlighting.comwww.titans.com.sg
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Hilltop Hoods Wows Audiences Across Australia
AUSTRALIA
Lighting Designer Paul Owen creates dynamic stage lighting effects with his trusted Avolites console
Celebrated hip hop lighting designer Paul Owen - who has illuminated performances by Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, Grandmaster Flash and The Streets -
used a range of lighting control equipment from British manufacturer Avolites for the recent Restrung tour by Australian rap legends Hilltop Hoods. A live version of the trio's second orchestral album, Drinking from the Sun, Walking under Stars Restrung, the ambitiously grandiose tour took place in April and quickly sold out. It stopped at all five major Australian cities and featured the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Queensland (Brisbane), Adelaide, Melbourne and West Australian (Perth). Owen made good use of Avolites' high-performance Sapphire Touch lighting console running Titan v9, which he used to create a stunning array of spectacular visual effects for the tour's larger shows. "I really loved using the pixel mapper feature. It's one of the highlight functions of the Sapphire Touch desk. The pixel mapper made it possible to create some awesome yet simple and effective colour effects throughout the rig as a whole. I love the Titan approach to pixel mapping. I wish it had always been that easy! "I'm also a big fan of the Key Frame Shapes function. For the first time in my career, I found it easy to create my
own movement effects, exactly as I wanted them. I used the function to create offset zoom effects, colour effects and offset gobo spin effects to name but a few! Any little nuance in a layer I could think of, Key Frame Shapes was the answer. It's an easy-to-use yet powerful function. The number of main playbacks on the Sapphire Touch also came in useful." Augmenting the Sapphire Touch, Owen used an Avolites Tiger Touch II plus Tiger Touch Fader Wing, which offered him the perfect combination of power and portability. The system was networked with a Titan Net Processor, which enabled remote DMX processing for the bigger shows with more universes and no latency. "This third generation console is packed with enough power for complex shows, yet it is small and light enough to fit in a standard plane luggage hold," adds Owen. "Not only that, the Fader Wing gives me 30 additional faders for instant access to all playbacks, fixtures and palettes. In addition, programmable macro buttons and local, independent paging control means that lighting huge events like this becomes intuitive." "I've been using Avolites products for a good fifteen years or so now as they suit my style," says Owen. "For a massive and complex live show like Restrung, they made my life so much easier - thanks to their rock solid effects engines, pixel mappers, handy windows with different layouts and 30 pre-set faders." The Avolites equipment was supplied to Paul Owen by Dave Taylor at TLC Global Lighting in Queensland.
www.avolites.com
Hilltop Hoods 1 © Phil Owen
Paul © Carlie Lambert
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EVENTS LISTING 2016Jun 30 – Jul 02Indian DJ ExpoVenue: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
Site: www.indiandjexpo.in
July 20 – 21ProAVL Asia 2016 / Toursim Technology Asia 2016Venue: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Site: www.proavlasia.com
Aug 04 – 06AudioVisual Integration Expo New Delhi 2016Venue: Hall 7ABC and 7FGH, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi,
India
Site: www.aviiexpo.in
Aug 23 – 25Integrate 2016Venue: Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park
Site: integrate-expo.com
Aug 31 – Sept 03Broadcast Indonesia/Communic Indonesia 2016Venue: Jakarta International Expo
Site: www.broadcast-indonesia.com
Sep 01 – 04PALM Expo 2016Venue: China International Exhibition Centre, Beijing,
China
Site: www.palmexpo.net
Sep 12 – 14InfoComm IndiaVenue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India
Site: www.infocomm-india.com
Oct 26 - 29Prolight + Sound Shanghai 2016Venue: Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai
China
Site: www.prolightsound-shanghai.com
Oct 31 – Nov 02Prolight + Sound Middle EastVenue: Dubai International Convention & Exhibition
Centre, Dubai
Site: www.prolightsoundme.com
Dec 06 – 08InfoComm Middle East and AfricaVenue: Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai
Site: www.infocomm-mea.com