Pro-Systems Jan/ Feb 2015

January / February 2015 R38.00

AV SyStem IntegrAtIon | InStAllAtIonS | lIVe eVentS | StudIo Pro AudIo

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Cover Story

Ear Monitor Evolution OneProfessional Active speakers

Wirelessin ear monitor

DVA M2M 2-Way Active Line Array System

Frequency Response: (- 6dB): 78 - 19 000 Hz

(- 10dB): 60 - 20 000 Hz

Max SPL: 126dB per unit

HF Driver: 2 x 1” Driver

LF Driver: 2 x 6.5” Driver

HF Amp: 200 W RMS (100W + 100W)

LF Amp: 200 W RMS (100W + 100W)

Weight: 7.6Kg

Dimensions mm: 460(W) x 190(H) x 345(D)

Full of Technology

Viva Afrika Sound and Light (Pty) LtdUnit 2, 2 Drakensburg Road

Longmeadow Business Estate West, West� eldPO Box 4709, Rivonia, 2128, South Africa

Tel: 011 250-3280, Fax: 011 [email protected], www.hybrid.co.za

viva afrikaAll you need from one system

THE FUTURE OF LINE ARRAY IS ACTIVE...

Ear Monitor Ear Monitor

EME one Transmitter

Band of frequency: VHF 170 - 230 MHz

divided into 3 bands of 10 MHz

Modulation: FM with Digital Code subcarriers

RF Power: 20 mW

RF architecture: Microprocessor controlled PLL

Audio Inputs: 2 X MIC/LINE inputs with built in 2 ch.

audio mixer

Channels: 8 channels for each band

intermodulation free calculated

Power supply: universal plug 100 to 250 VAC

to 12V - 200mA DC

Antenna: loaded fi xed stylus

EME one Receiver

Band of frequency: VHF 170 – 230 MHz divided into 3 bands of 10 MHz

Sensitivity: -90 dBm for 85 dB S/N weighted “A”

Supply: 9V battery 6LR61

Autonomy: 6 – 7 hours with medium volume regulation alkaline battery

Channels: 8 channels for each band intermodulation free calculated

Audio Inputs: 6.3 mm jack for monitoring electric guitars

Audio Outputs: 3 mm jack for 12 ohms In Ear Headphone

S/N “A” weighted: 104 dB


Headphones: Fire One 12 Ohm custom headphone

by beyerdynamic with foam ear tips

Viva Afrika – DB technologies

Ear Monitor Evolution OneProfessional Active speakers

Wirelessin ear monitor

DVA M2M 2-Way Active Line Array System

Frequency Response: (- 6dB): 78 - 19 000 Hz

(- 10dB): 60 - 20 000 Hz

Max SPL: 126dB per unit

HF Driver: 2 x 1” Driver

LF Driver: 2 x 6.5” Driver

HF Amp: 200 W RMS (100W + 100W)

LF Amp: 200 W RMS (100W + 100W)

Weight: 7.6Kg


Full of Technology




viva afrikaAll you need from one system

THE FUTURE OF LINE ARRAY IS ACTIVE...

Ear Monitor Ear Monitor

EME one Transmitter

Band of frequency: VHF 170 - 230 MHz

divided into 3 bands of 10 MHz

Modulation: FM with Digital Code subcarriers

RF Power: 20 mW

RF architecture: Microprocessor controlled PLL

Audio Inputs: 2 X MIC/LINE inputs with built in 2 ch.

audio mixer

Channels: 8 channels for each band

intermodulation free calculated

Power supply: universal plug 100 to 250 VAC

to 12V - 200mA DC


EME one Receiver

Band of frequency: VHF 170 – 230 MHz divided into 3 bands of 10 MHz

Sensitivity: -90 dBm for 85 dB S/N weighted “A”

Supply: 9V battery 6LR61

Autonomy: 6 – 7 hours with medium volume regulation alkaline battery

Channels: 8 channels for each band intermodulation free calculated

Audio Inputs: 6.3 mm jack for monitoring electric guitars

Audio Outputs: 3 mm jack for 12 ohms In Ear Headphone

S/N “A” weighted: 104 dB


Headphones: Fire One 12 Ohm custom headphone

by beyerdynamic with foam ear tips

As we usher in the new year

there seems to have been quite

a few developments within the

industry again. Hot off the press

is the news of Christie acquiring

Cologne-based media systems company,

coolux. Adam Professional Audio has

changed ownership and the TC Group (most

commonly known for their Tannoy, Lab.

gruppen and Lake brands) is set to be sold this

year. This follows a recent wave of other

acquisitions in the industry.

We too have some announcements to

make here at Pro-Systems News. We are

delighted to announce that Joanne Taylor has

been promoted to Deputy Editor. We also

welcome our new journalist Thuli Mlambo into

the fold.

I trust you all had a fabulous festive season

and you are ready to hit the ground running.

Claire Badenhorst

A very happy new year to all of

our readers and advertisers!

May it give you everything that

you put into it, and more.

I’d like to introduce myself as

the new Deputy Editor of Pro-Systems

magazine. With the guidance of Claire, the

Managing Editor, I will endeavour to bring you

quality content and relevant industry

information to help you and your business stay

informed within this exciting industry. Keep

reading our weekly newsletter for hot-off-the-

press news and keep those stories flowing into

our inbox!

Also keeping you abreast in the industry are

the not-to-be-missed industry events taking

place this year, which include our local

Mediatech Africa in July, ISE 2015, Prolight +

Sound, PLASA London and InfoComm. Best to

make booking and travel arrangements early

on to ensure you don’t miss out this year.

A brand new year brings with it boundless

opportunities to nurture the industry and make

it an even greater success. Work smarter to

expand your limitations and reach your goals.

Remember, ‘you are confined only by the

walls you build yourself’.Joanne taylor

Managing Editor

dEputy Editor

ContEntS

thuli Mlambo | Thuli is a sound engineer by profession and has experience as a roadie with Gearhouse through SARA. She’s been involved in the TV production, events and music industries and has toured internationally with the likes of Phil Collins and Zucchero while living in Europe, where she learnt the ropes of the Industry. Live entertainment, music and the arts are her passions. Thuli’s publication experience includes working as an intern for UK film magazine Bfm (Black Filmmaker magazine) – as an assistant to the editor.

neWs Christie acquires coolux .............................3

Avid relists on NASDAQ .............................3

TC Group up for sale ..................................3

Sharp strengthening efforts in

South Africa .................................................4

AVnu Alliance shows support

for industrial market ....................................4

NEXO appoints Jean Mullor

as their new CEO ........................................6

SACIA and TPSA finalise merge .................6

New owners for

Adam Professional Audio ...........................6

Shure remains choice

in mics for Idols SA .....................................8

Matrix Sound acquires distribution

rights for Galaxy Audio ...............................8

Mario De Sisti passes away ........................8

integrAtion & instAllAtion A guide to house of

worship lighting design .............................10

In the spirit of collaboration .....................14

ISE 2015 preview ........................................20

Unravelling 4K:

Does colour trump resolution? ................22

Acer increases AV focus in SA .................24

SA’s AV industry should suit up and

embrace global standards ......................26

A brand new audio visual

distributor is born .......................................28

Prosound expertise called upon

to install complex sound system

in Philippines Arena...................................30

Musion Africa – Mardi Gras Theatre,

Carnival City ..............................................34

2014 product highlights ............................38

liVe eVents ‘KG’ Moima ...............................................44

Robe BMFL – Choose your

own acronym ............................................48

EAW Anya – The new girl comes

to town… ...................................................52

Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2015

show sees huge exhibitor increase .........56

Mieliepop Festival .....................................58

GETshow2015 .............................................62

stuDio Pro AuDio DAW Controller round-up .........................64

soCiAl Martin Audio MLA Demo ........................68

Enco Workshop .........................................68

Meet.Inc Launch ......................................68

TID Roadtrip ...............................................68

David Davies | A journalist who has been covering professional AV and broadcast technology for 14 years. He is reelance managing editor of Sports Video Group (SVG) Europe and continues to contribute to a host of trade publications, including PSNEurope, PSNLive and Installation. He has also been a part of the team for The AES Daily, The IBC Daily and, since 2005, The ISE Daily, for which he served as an executive editor in 2013 and 2014. In addition, he is active as a copywriter and sub-editor.

Jimmy Den-ouden | An entertainment technician based in Sydney, Australia. His qualifications and experience span a broad range of subjects and technologies. He writes and reviews equipment most of the week, and works freelance on various shows and installations on a weekly basis. Jimmy can be seen on most GEARBOX video reviews, available on You Tube.

ContributorS

2

In thIS ISSue

Publisher| Simon Robinson | [email protected] Managing editor | Claire Badenhorst | [email protected] dePuty editor | Joanne Taylor | [email protected] in-house Journalist | Thuli Mlambo | [email protected] sub-editor | Tina Heron advertising sales | Claire Badenhorst | [email protected]

design | Trevor Ou Tim | [email protected] subscriPtions | Albertina Tserere | [email protected] accounts | Natasha Glavovic | [email protected]

Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd | Tel: +27 11 025-3180 | Epsom Downs Office Park, 13 Sloane Street, Bryanston, Johannesburg | PO Box 559 Fourways North 2086, South Africa

www. pro-systems.co.zaPublishers & Projects

3

Christie has acquired Cologne-

based coolux, a world-renowned developer

and supplier of 3D compositing and

rendering systems, best known for its

Pandoras Box product family. Coolux will be

integrated into Christie’s Global Market

Solutions team, maintaining its office in

Cologne, Germany.

Jennifer Smith, executive vice president,

Global Market Solutions, said “Christie is

committed to deepen its marketplace lead

in supplying a total solution for advanced

applications such as projection mapping,

broadcast delivery and all manner of

large-scale digital canvas creation, so the fit

between our products and services and

those of coolux is a natural one.”

Continuing, Smith said “Pre-visualisation

capability when creating stunning,

experiential events – including real-time

rendering of same – is increasingly important

in the creative plans of entertainment

designer and creative visionaries. The

acquisition is a boon to those who need

multiple display technologies to come

together to create both continuous and

non-continuous digital canvases, but most

importantly, to be able to create and

manage the content that flows onto these

canvases,” added Smith.

Coolux CEO Jan Huewel, who will report

to Smith in his new position of senior director,

Processing Solutions, commented that in a

world where visual and audio experiences

are assuming new importance in inspiring

and moving audiences, content

orchestration and synchronised content

delivery is paramount and with today’s news,

Christie, with its already impressive presence

in this arena, has gained another leading-

edge product line and development team

to ensure it keeps its lead.

Coolux has become a welcome feature

at various industry shows, including ISE, NAB,

LDI and InfoComm, and this presence will

continue in the Christie experiential

marketing booths at these shows, beginning

with the NAB 2015 show in Las Vegas,

Nevada, in April.

TC Group, a designer and manufacturer of

innovative sound products, is expecting to

be sold in its entirety this year. Pro Systems

News spoke to CEO Anders Fauerskov and

he says the decision is partly based on some

main shareholders wanting out and partly a

strategic review showing that its future

growth opportunities would be significantly

improved under a different, and financially

stronger ownership.

“The profiling of ‘TC Group’ and the

bringing together of the individual brands

under that umbrella is unrelated to the sale

of the company shares,” he says, adding that

initial feedback from potential buyers had

been strong.

“TC Group has shown strong and

profitable growth for many years now. The

main assets having made that happen is

firstly the people in the company, secondly

the brands. So, whereas a new owner is

entitled to do what they want, I strongly

believe that they’d be wise to maintain and

build on those assets.”

newS

Christie acquires coolux TC Group up for sale

Anders Fauerskov

Jennifer smith, executive vice president, global Market solutions, Christie

Avid announced that it has received

approval to re list its common stock on The

NASDAQ Stock Market; this was effective with

the open of trading on 8 December 2014.

The company will continue to trade under

the symbol AVID. The company was de-listed

from the stock exchange in February 2014

following an accounting restatement.

Avid’s accounting issue caused a

restatement about how Avid accounts for

improvements to their software over time.

They had to go back eight years and cover

literally every single release for every single

customer during that period, which is why it

has taken so long.

This entire process saw Avid shares move to

the OTC markets while the issue was resolved.

Following this, the shares have now moved

back to the Nasdaq.

Avid believes this milestone will offer

current and future Avid shareholders an

exciting opportunity to share in the success

of Avid’s business through improved access

to their common stock.

Avid relists on NASDAQ

4

newS

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.itA REVOLUTIONARY, AWARD-WINNING RANGE OF SOPHISTICATED LED WASH-LIGHTS, THAT FIT ALL NEEDS.

All models feature: incomparable color and white light control, with light evenly diffused on the front lens and no visible gaps between LEDs. Zoom ranging from an impressive minimum of 4° (which turns the lu-minaire into a beam-light) up to 60°.

B-EYE K10, B-EYE K20 and K10 “Easy” generate, thru individual LED control, active eye-candy chromatic patterns and a striking array of inde-pendent micro-beams, that can be used for digital gobo design (virtual gobos) and aerial effect morphing.

The full versions of B-EYE K10 and B-EYE K20 produce the revolution-ary “vortex” and its unique kalei-doscopic projections, for countless fantastic atmospheric effects that may be controlled in shape, color and speed.

TM

TRIPLE CROWN!

EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR FOR SOUTH AFRICA:DWR DISTRIBUTIONIt’s all about the People

Block C, Unit 1, Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laser Park, Honeydew, 2170, JohannesburgTel: +27117935066 | Fax:+27117925076 | [email protected] | www.dwrdistribution.co.za

K10 CC K10 Easy K20 K10

ProSystem_A4.indd 1 24/03/14 16:29

Sharp Middle East, a subsidiary of Sharp

Corporation, the 102-year old global

electronics company, recently announced

its plans to ramp up efforts in South Africa, as

part of its regional strategy to continue

supplying innovative products to serve a

dynamic global marketplace. Speaking at a

press event in Cape Town, Hiroshi Kataoka,

executive officer of Sharp Corporation and

Osamu Narita, general manager of Sharp

South Africa, outlined the company’s plans

to aim to expand its business in South Africa.

The focus on South Africa as a key market

for growth comes on the back of continued

growth for the organisation, which has been

responsible for some of the leading

technologies applied in daily life around the

world. From the world’s first handheld

calculator through to the most advanced

LCD technology, Sharp Corporation has

continued to supply global markets with

innovative solutions.

Speaking at the media conference,

Kataoka and Narita said the company plans

to redefine the way the company is doing

business in South Africa, including a strong

focus on taking local insights through to the

product development process in Japan.

“Sharp is going to focus the business in the

new markets which has tremendous growth

potential. South Africa is one of our focused

regions. We will bring the cutting-edge

technologies and products from Japan to

the South African market,” explains Kataoka.

The future for Sharp in South Africa will be

spearheaded from their office in

Johannesburg, led by Narita and serviced

by a team comprising of both local

knowledge and global expertise. “South

Africa is a unique marketplace which can no

longer be considered as an emerging

market,” says Narita. “The growth potential

here as well as the higher-than-continental-

average in terms of literacy, economic

maturity and service sector population

mean that we cannot consider South Africa

with the same strategy as we would the rest

of the continent. South Africa requires a

different business approach that befits a

country that is blooming as an emerging

AVnu Alliance has announced a new

industrial market segment as standard

Ethernet continues to expand its range,

functionality and applications with the

evolution of the Audio Video Bridging (AVB)

standard into Time Sensitive Networking

(TSN). The new capabilities of TSN provide the

industrial community with the ability to use

standard Ethernet to support highly reliable

and precise synchronised networking

appropriate for industrial control.

With the expansion into the industrial

control market, three new members have

joined; Belden, General Electric, and

National Instruments. These companies are

driving forces in the recent expansion,

working within AVnu Alliance to develop the

foundational elements needed for industrial

applications, based on the common

elements of AVB/TSN. The industrial segment

is also supported by existing AVnu Alliance

members such as Broadcom, Cisco, Intel,

Interval Zero, Marvell, Micrel, Vitesse, Xilinx

and XMOS.

TSN technology shows promise to be the

core technology for high-end industrial

Ethernet communications in the future,

solving challenges faced in demanding,

high-performance and high-precision

industries, like motion control, robotics and

high-speed manufacturing. TSN promises

through standard silicon to converge the

previously disparate technologies needed

for standard Ethernet communication, for

deterministic high speed data transfer, and

for high accuracy time synchronisation.

Standard Ethernet is evolving to enable

next generation control systems. This will

allow convergence of low latency control

traffic and standard Ethernet traffic on the

same network for demanding applications

like multi-axis motion control, providing a

foundation for more advanced

manufacturing and production models

where data can be shared more flexibly

between layers of the control system and

where Internet of Things (IoT) technology

can be applied into production

environments. The new capabilities of these

open standards enable high-speed closed

loop control networks to support any

Ethernet device using standard IT

components, and creates the needed

foundation for IoT integration with industrial

production.

The industrial market, which parallels

work that AVnu Alliance members have

been doing in the Automotive segment, is a

$150-billion a year market space and

creates a pathway to the future of IoT.

market but as sophisticated as a developed

market.”

Initially, the office will focus on developing

a burgeoning business-to-business market

and audio visual integration before

expanding to include consumer and

government markets. “Sharp is one of the

only office automation companies that can

provide a total office solution to the

customer, from printers through to AV display

units for boardrooms,” explains Narita.

“Therefore, it makes sense for us to capitalise

this advantage initially before expanding to

include the proactive marketing and

distribution of the rest of our product portfolio.

The sophistication of the business technology

solutions market in South Africa poses a

great opportunity for us to begin our

efforts here before taking on the

direct-to-consumer market.”

Sharp strengthening efforts in South Africa

AVnu Alliance shows support for industrial market

Fumio Yamaguchi, hiroshi Kataoka and osamu narita.

ww

w.b

-eye

.it

A REVOLUTIONARY, AWARD-WINNING RANGE OF SOPHISTICATED LED WASH-LIGHTS, THAT FIT ALL NEEDS.

All models feature: incomparable color and white light control, with light evenly diffused on the front lens and no visible gaps between LEDs. Zoom ranging from an impressive minimum of 4° (which turns the lu-minaire into a beam-light) up to 60°.

B-EYE K10, B-EYE K20 and K10 “Easy” generate, thru individual LED control, active eye-candy chromatic patterns and a striking array of inde-pendent micro-beams, that can be used for digital gobo design (virtual gobos) and aerial effect morphing.

The full versions of B-EYE K10 and B-EYE K20 produce the revolution-ary “vortex” and its unique kalei-doscopic projections, for countless fantastic atmospheric effects that may be controlled in shape, color and speed.

TM

TRIPLE CROWN!



K10 CC K10 Easy K20 K10


6

newS

Nexo commenced the new year of 2015 with

a new CEO, Jean Muller, who hails from the

French subsidiary of Yamaha Music Europe

as the MD.

Mullor spent nearly four years with

Yamaha, where he was in charge of the

domestic distribution of musical instruments,

commercial audio products, audio video

products and music schools network

development.

A lawyer by training Mullor brings with him

wealth of knowledge and management

experience. Over the years he has moved

from petrochemical company Mobil in

America to joining the French subsidiary of

Yamaha in 1992 and augmented his legal

prowess, gaining experience in HR, logistics,

finance, sales and marketing.

In a statement about his new appointment

Mullor said “These are exciting times for Nexo

and it’s an outstanding experience to join a

company that has three decades of

technical experience and industry-leading

reputation. With its flagship technology

making inroads at the very top of the

international market, and a slate of new

products scheduled for release. I am really

looking forward to being part of the team.”

NEXO appoints Jean Mullor as their new CEO

New owners for Adam Professional Audio

Jean Mullor

In an update from the article TPSA

votes to merge with SACIA,

published in our previous issue that

informed our readers of the possible

changes to be made within TPSA

and SACIA, the two organisations

have finalised their agreement.

The two leading organisations

representing the audio visual

industry in southern Africa, namely

Southern African Communications

Industry Association (SACIA) and the

Technical Production Services Association

(TPSA) have merged so that they can present

a stronger front to clients and associates, and

a louder voice to government. “We’ve

merged in order to represent our industry

more effectively in engagements with

government and regulatory bodies – and in

order to better serve our members,” says

SACIA CEO Kevan Jones.

While SACIA members are responsible for

fixed audio visual displays such as those

often used in board rooms, shopping centres,

sports arenas and houses of worship, the

TPSA membership have been responsible for

the spectacular effects one sees at music

concerts and other similar events. Over the

last few months a task group made of

representatives from both the TPSA and

SACIA have been crafting a proposal for the

merger of the two organisations.

Both groups believe that by merging

SACIA and the TPSA there is an opportunity

to provide long-term value to members, and

Jones asserts that the value of this merger is

already manifesting itself in direct benefits

to members.

The merger provides TPSA members with

instant access to the wide range of online

training programmes available to SACIA

members, including specialist audio training

from Syn-Aud-Con and video production

training offered through Class On Demand.

“Whilst access to professional development

training is important, the real value to TPSA

members lies in our capacity to engage with

members and industry stakeholders in a

meaningful way,” explains Jones.

While there have been many people

who’ve resisted transformation up till this

point, the new regulatory framework means

that companies who fail to make a

commitment to the process of transformation

will be severely handicapped.

SACIA and TPSA finalise merge

German entrepreneurs with the CWM

holding company acquired ownership of

Adam Professional Audio on 11 December

2014. The new owners stated that their goal is

to invest in Adam Audio, bringing production

back up to normal and to invest in new

products which will strengthen the

competitiveness of Adam Audio’s already

excellent market position.

A representative of the new shareholder,

Sebastian Canzler states that: “Adam Audio is

known worldwide in the pro audio industry

for its superb speakers. Due to the high

precision and quality of the products as well

as the large technical expertise of its

employees, the company has become very

quickly a leading supplier of professional

audio monitors. All of this provides a very

good basis for further growth, which we strive

for together with the existing team.”

Sven Schmöle, managing director of

Adam Audio: “With CWM we have a partner

on our site that supports our passion for

innovation and helps us realise our full

potential. Our task now is to resume

production as soon as possible in order to

supply our customers with products again.”

8

newS

The De Sisti Organisation has issued a release

stating that its founder, Mario De Sisti, passed

away on 31 October 2014.

“The lighting industry has lost a true

pioneer, inventor, and true ambassador.

There was no one more charismatic or

passionate about his family, business or the

industry. Mario was highly dedicated and

inhaled lighting with every breath. His

enthusiasm and vigour was contagious,”

write sons Fabio and Sergio De Sisti, who are

entrusted with taking the company forward.

Mario travelled the world and considered

most of his friends as family. A man with a big

heart and high level of excitement and

dedication to the lighting industry.

The entire De Sisti Organization expresses

its immense gratitude and admiration to

Mario, for his genius contribution and

unrestful dedication to achieve the

prestigious results upon always innovative

products and solutions, for the worldwide

professional lighting industry.

“We will all miss Mario….there are not

known words to us, good enough to express

how much we will miss you,” say Fabio and

Sergio.

On behalf of Mario and the De Sisti

Organization, Fabio and Sergio express their

gratitude for your past support of the

company and future endeavours together.

Matrix Sound has announced the acquisition

of distribution rights for the Galaxy Audio

range of products. Galaxy Audio was

established thirty-five years ago and this

family run business is based in Wichita in

the USA.

Their range is extensive including speaker

systems, in-ear monitors, wireless lectern

mics, mixing consoles, stands and even

battery powered portable

speakers. This range of product

seamlessly crosses over from

pro-audio into the MI market and

provides innovation and reliability

at a brilliant price.

The first shipment has arrived and

product demos can now be

arranged with Matrix Sound..

Mario De Sisti passes away

Matrix Sound acquires distribution rights for Galaxy Audio

Mario De sisti

The winner of Idols SA

Season 10 was

announced during a

spectacular live finale

held at Carnival City

Casino and

Entertainment World on

23 November 2014. Idols

is now the longest

running reality show in

South Africa, and

Vincent Bones was voted as the winner of

Idols 10.

According to sources from DStv, all

previous Idols SA voting records were broken.

The total number of votes reached an

incredible 24.3 million compared to 7.2

million votes that were received last year.

The finale witnessed a variety of guest

appearances by popular South African

artists as well as surprise performances by

the judges.

An assortment of wired and wireless Shure

microphones were used during the show for

sound reproduction. Microphones ranging

from the legendary SM58 Vocal Microphone,

to the SM87 and Classic Shure 55SH Unidyne

have been used during the season and

contributed to the success of the production.

Shure wireless systems featured were 24

channels of ULX-D wireless microphones, as

well as 20 channels of PSM-900 personal

monitors for all the artists. RF Management

was through Shure’s Wireless Workbench.

For Marius Marais, owner of Audio Logic

and senior FOH engineer for Idols SA, Shure

has become a household name since the

show’s inception in 2002 and remains the

show’s preferred microphone of choice.

Marais says: “Shure has some iconic

models and their microphones are instantly

recognisable throughout the professional

audio industry – it is the trusted and chosen

microphone for the majority of international

artists and performances.”

Andrew Sorrill, sales and marketing

manager at Wild & Marr – the local importers

and distributors for Shure in southern Africa

adds: “We are extremely happy with the

contribution Shure has made toward the

success of the show and are proud of the

fact that Shure has been involved with Idols

SA from the beginning.”

“This success can be expected since Shure

microphones are known for their legendary

performance and are a respected brand

anywhere in the world. We would like to

congratulate Vincent and wish him much

success in his future. We also acknowledge

Bongi for being a worthy runner up in this

competition,” he continues.

As part of his prize package, Vincent

Bones received a Shure ULXD 4DE Digital

Dual wireless system, two Shure ULXD2/

Beta58 Digital handheld transmitters, a Shure

PSM9 in-ear monitoring system and Shure

SE425 earphones all wired and racked in a

Road Ready case for ease of transportation.

Shure remains choice in mics for Idols SA

Idols SA winner Vincent Bones using shure mics

www.tvaudio.co.za+27 11 805 9910

[email protected] Unit 11, Hitech Vilage Superior Road,Midrand 1686, South Africa

+27 11 805 9930

10

IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon WhitE papEr

A guide to house of worship lighting design

the basics

Lighting serves several functions. First, and most obvious, is to simply

make the platform and the people on it visible. However, that levels at

which you light your platform makes a difference in how it affects

those attending the service.

“First of all, it’s important that the congregation be able to see the

preachers face,” comments Pastor Matt Reynolds, assistant pastor at

Jordantown Wesleyan Church in Vinton, VA. “In some churches the

platform is dark and the lighting is poor, so the people have a hard

time seeing the expressions on his face which can be important in

By Jim Kumorek

Whether you’re in an old cathedral, a traditional sanctuary, or a modern auditorium, how you light a church service impacts the mood and how well people will comprehend and retain what takes place. in this article, we’re going to discuss lighting for the benefit of those attending the service. lighting for broadcast (such as television, webcast, satellite campuses) has somewhat different needs, and won’t be discussed here.

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WhitE papEr IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon

1111

making points.”

When lighting is too dim, people strain to see what is taking place

and can have a difficult time locating where people are speaking or

singing from on a crowded or busy stage. This cuts down the amount of

brain-power that they will put towards paying attention to the actual

service, as they are spending time locating those who are speaking. It

also is very tiring, and will cause people to start tuning out or

disconnecting from what’s taking place. Conversely, lighting that is too

bright can be painful to look at, and also causes people to disconnect

or stop watching.

Focusing attention

People’s attention naturally tends to be drawn to locations that are

brighter than others. Lighting for the platform generally should be

somewhat brighter than the general seating area so that people’s

attention is drawn to the stage and away from the squirming children a

few rows over.

Within the stage space itself, having the lights a little brighter in the

areas where the key ’action’ is taking place will draw people’s attention

to that area. If there are several people on stage who share leading

worship for different songs, transitioning the lighting during worship to

highlight the person leading worship for that song helps keep people

connected with what’s happening on stage and allows them focus

more on worshipping and less on figuring out where the person singing

is located.

A common response to this thought is “it’s a time of worship – people

don’t need to be watching the musicians.” However, if the worship

team is on a stage in front of the congregation, that in itself tells people

you expect them to be watching the worship team, and trying to locate

the ’primary’ thing going on is a natural instinct. So, you can try to

(unsuccessfully) fight that natural instinct, or you can eliminate the

distraction by guiding people’s attention through your use of lighting

levels and transitions.

Varying your lighting levels in the seating area as well as on stage can

also help the different parts of your worship service to achieve their

goals.

“Dimmed lighting during worship sets a ‘mood’ where the focus is

taken away from self and others and redirected to God where it

belongs,” adds Monica Ravenstein, worship leader at River of Life

Foursquare Church in Great Bend, KS. “It helps the congregation to shut

out the world for a bit and just spend time in His presence.”

reinforcing a mood

Another purpose of lighting is to support and enhance the mood of

what’s taking place in the room. As Ravenstein pointed out, lighting

intensity itself can make a great start at setting a mood. “I like for the

lights to be fully on at the beginning of service because people need to

see where to sit,” adds Reynolds, “they need light to read their bulletins,

and also it’s helpful in being able to see others around you and makes

visiting a little easier. Also, a more brightly lit room can increase energy

at the beginning which I think is important. As the service moves into

more of a worshipful atmosphere from a more celebratory atmosphere

earlier in the service it can be effective to slightly dim the house lights

creating a more intimate and worshipful setting. This could apply to

prayer times as well.”

The next step is to change the colour of the lighting that’s illuminating

the overall platform, and sometimes the side and rear walls and even

the seating area of the room. Colours impact one’s mood, and while

your goal isn’t to be manipulative in a negative way, colours can help

create an environment where the natural emotions that worship can

bring out are supported and reinforced. Brighter colours such as reds

and yellows help reflect energy and excitement; colours such as deep

DWr

“First of all, it’s important that the congregation be able to see the preachers face. In

some churches the platform is dark and the lighting is poor, so the people have a hard

time seeing the expressions on his face which can be important in making points.”

– Pastor Matt reynolds, assistant pastor at Jordantown Wesleyan Church in Vinton, VA

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IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon WhitE papEr

blues and dark greens reinforce introspection and peacefulness.

With LED lighting becoming more cost-effective and often more

energy efficient, the ability to change the colours used to wash your

stage and room has become easier than ever. But like any technology,

there’s also potential to create a distraction. Therefore, working with

your technical team to determine what’s appropriate for your church is

also important.

Architectural lighting

Lighting the facility is one area where significant electricity is used, and

architectural lighting systems can help you save on lighting expenses by

providing a greater level of control. These lighting systems can allow you

to have time- and motion-controlled lighting, turning off lights in a room

that’s no longer occupied. They can also be censored to ’harvest

daylight’, keeping lights off near windows but on in darker corners of a

room. Facilities built with architectural lighting control systems can be

programmed to ’sweep off’ the building at a certain time of day (11pm,

for example) to avoid lights burning throughout the church after it’s

closed for the night.

think long term

There’s one other thought I’d like to leave you with. Think about the long

term when making decisions about what lighting gear to provide. The

adage ‘you get what you pay for’ usually applies to professional lighting

equipment (not to mention video and audio). If you buy the cheapest

gear, expect to be buying it all over again in a year or two. If you buy

the better gear, it may last you a decade or two.

When it comes to more complicated equipment such as moving

lights, you also need to be thinking about maintenance. A moving light

has many small moving parts in them, and they do break. Unlike regular

theatrical fixtures, performing maintenance requires training and skill

that most church volunteers (and even staff) don’t have. Higher quality

(and more expensive) fixtures will go longer before needing repair as

they are built better to begin with.

Greg Persinger, owner of Vivid Illumination, suggests budgeting for a

lamp change based on the rated life of the lamps and your expected

usage, and then adding $100 to $150 per fixture per year to accumulate

for repairs down the road. For example, a new lamp for one moving

light costs $150, and lasts 750 hours. If you use this light for 20 hours per

week (don’t forget rehearsal time and programming time for your

team), you’ll be replacing the lamp every nine months.

This comes out to budgeting at least $300 a year on maintenance for

each of the fixture types you own. If you don’t maintain them, you’ll

likely find them useless after a few short years. If you can’t afford to

maintain them, then you really can’t afford to buy them either. A

reasonable alternative is to rent them occasionally for services or events

where they will make a significant impact, and do without the rest of

the time.

Terms and definitions

Professional lighting has a vocabulary all its own—here are some

terms that integrators should teach the church’s tech team.

• Lighting console: the device that is used to control a theatrical or

concert lighting system.

• Lighting software: software that functions as a lighting console but

runs on a computer you provide, and only requires extra hardware

to connect the computer to your lighting system. These often have

the same power and capabilities as a lighting console, but a

fraction of the cost.

• Static fixture: a lighting fixture that does not move by itself and

requires someone to physically handle it, often with tools, to

reposition it to light a different area or have a different colour.

• Moving light (or intelligent light): a lighting fixture that has motors in

it which can be controlled from a lighting console or software.

Moving lights can give you the all-out rock concert look, but can

also be used subtly to let a few moving fixtures take the place of

many regular fixtures by allowing the operator to re-aim them and

change their colour for different parts of a service.

• Dimmer: static fixtures are connected to dimmers to provide them

power; dimmers can be controlled by a lighting console or

software to set the intensity level. Dimmers come in packs that

contain typically at least four, but as many as 96, dimmers.

• Lamp: in your home, this would be called a light bulb. But in

professional lighting, it’s called a lamp. The bulb is technically just

the glass piece of the lamp. Changing the lamp in a fixture is

called re-lamping. The bulb part of a lamp should NEVER make

contact with skin, as they burn so hot, the oils left on the glass

cause the glass to shatter.

Story republished courtesy Commercial Integrator.

DWR DISTRIBUTION Block C, Unit 1, Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laserpark, Honeydew, 2170, JohannesburgIt’s all about the people Tel: +27 11 794 5023 | Fax: + 27 11 794 5702 | [email protected] | www.dwrdistribution.co.za

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14

IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon produCt round-up

In the spirit of collaboration

Wireless presentation and collaboration systems are ushering in a flexible new era in working practices across the corporate and educational worlds. reporter David Davies profiles five of the leading solutions in the company of manufacturers, distributors and integrators.

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produCt round-up IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon

Christie Brio‘Simply connecting anything to everything from huddle spaces to multi-room conferences.’

Models: Team, Team+ and Enterprise

“We had a control room platform called Phoenix that we realised could be adapted to create a meeting room solution.

That was the starting point for Brio, although the electronics are now quite different from those contained in Phoenix,” says

Nick Wheeler, EMEA sales and technical consultant for video processing, Christie Digital Systems.

“What we wanted to achieve was the ability for people to walk into a meeting room, use whatever device and operating

system they wish, and then connect to and display their content on the screen. Brio allows you to display any five of the

following five input types: two DVI-D HDCP sources (Team+ and Enterprise models only), five Apple devices, five network

connected PCs, five Android devices, all over WiFi using full desktop mirroring – all this without cables or dongles.

“The fact that the system is essentially platform agnostic is a real advantage of Brio, although I would also draw attention

to the internal whiteboard feature, which allows users to load a still into the whiteboard from their device and enable

others to participate from their device via a web page. We have also had very good feedback about the annotation

feature, which enables you to annotate any source that is displayed on the main output and then save the result as a JPG

to USB.

“In addition, the Enterprise version of Brio offers multisite capability that allows the host to share content with any number

of Brio Enterprise-equipped destinations. In fact, we have been using Enterprise for just this kind of application between the

Christie offices.”

Future prospects: “We have only just started to ship Brio but are looking forward to raising awareness of the system in 2015,”

says Wheeler.

Availability: TBA

16


Crestron AirMedia‘Complete wireless HD presentation from any mobile device and any platform.’

Model: AM-100 AirMedia Presentation Gateway

Corporate, military and educational facilities are among the key targets for Crestron AirMedia,

reports the company’s regional manager for South Africa, Rupert Denoon.

“Today you want to ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) to meetings to present, collaborate and

share content wirelessly,” says Denoon. “With Crestron AirMedia you can, and it couldn’t be

easier. Using AirMedia, you can walk into any meeting space and wirelessly present

PowerPoint, Excel and Word documents, PDFs, photos and screen shots from your personal iOS

or Android mobile device on the room display. Mac and Windows notebooks also connect

seamlessly, making presentations and collaboration from almost any device incredibly fast

and easy.

“Features that I would highlight include the Moderator Mode, in which presenters and

instructors can easily control the room and prevent ‘presentation chaos’. You just need to

select whose content to share and whose content to not share, all from the Air Media web

page or Crestron touch screen.

“Then for very large meeting spaces where the display can be difficult to see, Remote View

mode enables up to 40 participants – either at the back of the room or in other locations – to

log in from a web browser to view the presentation on their mobile devices.”

Future prospects: “We believe that we will improve the frame rate and be more efficient with

bandwidth. Wireless technology is getting better every year and we will see changes in the

way people collaborate in meeting rooms,” says Denoon.

Availability: Q2, 2013

“Wireless technology is getting better every year and we will see changes in the way people collaborate in meeting rooms.”

– rupert Denoon, regional manager for south Africa, Crestron.

17


Kramer ViA Collage / Connect Pro’VIA Collage is a wireless presentation and collaboration hub; VIA Connect PRO is a wireless collaboration hub.’

Corporate and educational facilities are chief priorities for these two wireless hub systems, explains

Jason Johnstone, Kramer product manager at the manufacturer’s South African distributor,

Electrosonic.

“The fact that these products would typically be installed on the user network makes it possible to

present wirelessly and stream video at 1080P/60Hz – without frame loss or lip sync issues – and then

collaborate while still having access to Microsoft Outlook as there is no need to switch wireless

networks,” says Johnstone.

“In particular, the Collage unit is intended to serve as an all-in-one solution that will save the

end-user money while still allowing scope for features such as VC, streaming, collaboration,

interactive whiteboard, presentation and BYOD.

“I also believe that our unit is the best that I have seen in terms of sending video wirelessly; the fact

that there is no frame loss sets ours apart from other units out there.”

Future prospects: “My feeling is that – due to the global popularity of users trying to make use of

BYOD for meeting purposes – they will strive to make the interactivity between these devices and

what is shown on the main screen even easier and offer more features across these devices. Typical

AV installs as we know it with hard-wired connections seem to have a limited lifespan and eventually

all AV will go the way of Ethernet and WiFi as encoding and decoding of video signals continue to

improve. Eventually all video will be compressed and the quality will be so high no one would see

the difference.”

Availability: From June 2014

18


Barco Clickshare‘Wireless presentation and collaboration system that allows any meeting participant to share content on the central meeting room screen.’

“It’s all about the button!” declares Dirk Schreuder from South African Barco distributor Imago SA. “The Barco ClickShare USB button offers

plug-and-play wireless content sharing by simply plugging it into your laptop USB port and clicking the button.

“Most wireless presentation solutions require the user to connect their laptop’s WiFi to the wireless presentation access point, thereby making it

overcomplicated to the average user. In contrast, the Barco ClickShare USB button creates a WiFi connection to the ClickShare base station,

enabling the user to present wirelessly and be on the corporate WiFi network to browse files and the internet.

“As a premium product, the Barco ClickShare solution also offers up to Full HD 1080P quality images as well as sturdy and attractive build

quality.

“ClickShare is aimed towards medium-to-large corporate companies with multiple presentation or multimedia facilities, although we have

also enjoyed success in most verticals including government and financial institutions.”

Future prospects: “[In this market generally] we expect or hope to see complete wireless transmission from source to destination in future, but of

course one needs to be cognisant of other factors when it comes to wireless transmission technologies with regard to frequencies and licenses,”

says Schreuder.

Availability: From 2012

Integrator viewpoints:

“ClickShare’s brilliance lies in its utter simplicity.”

– Francois du Plessis, inchBrook Audio Visual.

“The system delivers ease of installation and set-up from an installer’s point of view; flexibility in terms of how to integrate the unit and what you want it to achieve for your client; and ease of use from a client’s perspective,”

– Darryl Katz, co-founder, managing member and

technology consultant, 4Ward Design.

19


AMX enzo‘A content-sharing platform built specifically for meeting rooms, classrooms and other collaboration spaces, providing instant access to a wide variety of content and conferencing services.’

First of all, it should be noted that the ENZO product was not originally conceived as a wireless presentation device; the wireless presentation

aspect was: “...added later and uses the MirrorOp technology base, and as a result does a good job of screen-sharing from devices/

computers,” says Wynand Langenhoven from South Africa’s AMX distributor, Peripheral Vision.

“The main benefits of the system are that it allows content sharing and screen mirroring between laptops, smart devices and tablets;

facilitates integrated Skype and Microsoft Lync videoconferencing when used in conjunction with AMX’s forthcoming Serena

Videoconferencing Camera; and provides an on-screen keypad-based venue control interface when used in conjunction with AMX NX

Room system controller. There is also great strength in ENZO’s ability to connect presenters and their content without them having arrived with

any device or computer thanks to Dropbox integration.

“The main markets for this system are presentation venues (primarily huddle spaces) in the corporate and government market segment

and within education facilities for lecture spaces. Another market for which the product would be very attractive is in government or

parliamentary chambers.”

Future prospects: “As hinted above, AMX is about to release support for videoconferencing on the ENZO device. They will be releasing their

own camera for ENZO and it will support Skype and Lync videoconferencing. It’s a very exciting development that should really help to ensure

the popularity of the system.”

Availability: From July 2014

20

IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon prEViEW

ISE 2015 will attract professionals from every link in the systems

integration value-chain, including manufacturers, distributors,

dealers, contractors and consultants. ISE also draws ever-growing

numbers of end customers, from fields such as education, sports,

corporate facilities, hospitality and live events.

Professionals from more than 150 countries are expected to attend

the show, looking to network, pursue new business opportunities and

see over 1 000 new product launches. The show floor will occupy

more than 36 000 square metres as well as four dedicated show

areas: Digital Signage; Residential Solutions; Unified Communications;

and the Smart Building area, which will showcase the latest solutions

in building automation and energy management.

Pre-show events

As in previous years, the ISE pre-show events will offer a motivating

programme including the return of the Smart Building Conference

and the Audio Forum. Following huge success at both ISE 2014 and

PLASA London 2014, the Smart Building Conference, a joint venture of

ISE’s co-owners InfoComm International and CEDIA, will take place at

the RAI on 9 February 2015. The conference will include an inspiring

team of industry experts delivering presentations and panel

discussions on the hot topics surrounding the smart

building industry.

Organised by media partner, Connessioni, the Audio Forum will

return to host a full-day educational programme consisting of case

studies and seminars, aiming to gather together the international

audio community. Taking place on the eve of ISE, the Audio Forum

has been designed to increase the dialogue between audio

manufacturers and professionals operating in the AV marketplace.

ISE 2015 preview

Amsterdam rAi, the venue for ise 2015

integrated systems europe (ise) 2015 returns to the Amsterdam rAi with an even bigger and better show. Promising more than 50 000 people and over 950 exhibitors, ise 2015 is set to present the largest AV tradeshow ever held in europe, from 10 to 12 February.

21

prEViEW IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon

New on the show floor

Following the success of ISE 2014, the ISE Theatres will return to the

show floor including the addition of one new theatre, ISE Unified

Communications Theatre, which will stage case-study presentations

by manufacturers, product distributors, systems integrators and end

customers, focusing on the practical aspects of implementing

collaboration and communication systems within enterprises. Meanwhile, the Residential Solutions Theatre will aim to broaden

the market for whole-house automation and intelligent building

design, with non-technical presentations showcasing real-world case

studies. The Commercial Solutions Theatre will concentrate on the

end-customer benefits of systems integration in a range of market

verticals such as hospitality, healthcare, education, corporate and

government facilities.

Extra areas at the show have been created to benefit visitors and

offer them a chance to relax during the three busy show days. Extra

catering areas in the Park Foyer and Ruby Lounge, as well as the

return of the Business Lounge, offering WiFi access, massage and

charging stations, will give visitors a much-needed opportunity to

take a break. Modern seating, international newspapers and TV

screens broadcasting international channels throughout the show

days, the lounge will be an informal yet professional environment in

which visitors can work, relax and network.

Owing to its popularity at ISE 2014, an extra Discovery Zone has

been added to offer new ISE Exhibitors the chance to participate in

the show within a dedicated showcase. In the same hall, a new US

Pavilion will host stands from US exhibitors looking to integrate into the

European market. The pavilion is organised in cooperation with the US

Commercial Service, which is offering its support to the participating

exhibitors and networking events where interested companies can

meet them.

Professional Development

In addition to the Show Floor theatres, ISE’s co-owners CEDIA and

InfoComm International will present an even wider range of courses

at ISE 2015. Both associations will be offering more of their popular

technical and business education, with offers in place for early bird

discounts as well as on-site certification, it allows attendees to gain

globally recognised qualifications without leaving the show venue.

the crowds at ise 2014

Professionals from more than 150 countries are expected to attend the show, looking to

network, pursue new business opportunities and see over 1 000 new product launches.

22

IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon opinion

Unravelling 4K: Does colour trump resolution?

Ever since the failure of 3D as a long-term movie and TV sales driver,

both Hollywood and the consumer electronics industries have

determined that 4K, or Ultra HD, provides the best opportunity to drive

video product sales.

Since both industries began to focus on 4K, momentum for the

format has been steadily gaining steam. Highlighting that momentum

was the buzz it generated at two of the biggest tradeshows of the

year – CES and InfoComm.

Both events featured a number of 4K products and the interest for

the format on each respective show floor was noteworthy.

Taking a step back from all of the 4K enthusiasm is Joel Silver,

president of the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) and one of the AV

industry’s pre-eminent video experts. For well over a year, Silver has

been cautioning installers that there are other fundamentals in place

that should take a higher priority than resolution.

4K part of the larger picture

Silver is excited for the future of video and the performance potential

that exists with some of the upcoming initiatives the professional and

consumer markets are working on, but he points out that 4K alone

won’t push video standards into breaking new ground.

“Having 4K is one part of UHD and [next-generation, high-

performance video], but it is not the most important part and people

don’t get that,” says Silver. “It is part of the roadmap and there are

two flavours of 4K, which is exciting, but there is a committee looking

at HDR [high dynamic range].”

The reason why HDR is so important for the next generation of video

quality, Silver says, is the public has lived with the same temporal

resolution since 1939. In the near future he notes – around 2017 and

By Robert Archer

Video expert Joel silver explains why 4K is a piece of the puzzle, but not the next-generation standard bearer for high-performance video.

23

opinion IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon

2018 – advances in colour gamut will really drive innovation.

“Going from 2K to 4K is an improvement, but it is not revolutionary,”

he admits. “But the new colours, that is something. There is a lack of

understanding concerning the rollout of 4K. I would much rather have

a dynamic 2K HDTV than more pixels. Something with great blacks or

great HDR, that is more impactful. Resolution is only apparent when

you are close.”

Underscoring what is happening in the video world, Silver

emphasises that 4K is just the first part of a new system. “Frankly [4K] is

the least impressive part of the roll-out,” he boasts.

Colour space advances key to quality

According to Silver, the underpublicised part of the impending video

industry’s format updates is the expanded colour gamut that could

become a part of their final specification.

“The 2020 colour space (the International Telecommunications

Union Radio Communications ITU-R BT.2020 recommendation) is

going to be great for laser colour space, but it will be difficult for

older TVs.”

“Flat-panel TVs will be expensive,” he continues. “The broadcast

space already uses [the spec]. I have a 17-inch HP laptop that was

part of a venture with DreamWorks and it includes Rec 709

capabilities and the Adobe Colour Space that is much better than

HD. The laptop also does DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives).”

“In a two-minute demo I can show pictures in three different colour

spaces. Improvements in colour gamut are instantaneously superior

to the average viewer. Showing Adobe Colour Space over Rec 709 is

noticeable. Glancing at 4K, the average person doesn’t see [a

noticeable difference] because it is just resolution.”

Joining manufacturers that include Digital Projection (DPI) and

Sony in their enthusiasm for laser-based projectors, Silver says these

products along with LED solutions will be able to deliver the colour

gamut capabilities that are a part of the next-generation formats.

“The Ultra HD format will bring us all of that,” he notes. “It will deliver

a much better image because dynamic range is more important.”

Quality begins with basics

The impending video formats may offer wider colour gamuts and

more resolution, but just like current industry standards, their

respective performance is based on the same fundamentals as

current-generation formats.

Both HD and Ultra HD/4K require proper black level and contrast

setups before moving onto colour and resolution calibrations.

“Contrast is the most important parameter,” emphasises Silver. “If

you don’t have good blacks and whites, you won’t have a good

image. Some of the great engineering minds from Philips, Dolby, the

BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and to Technicolor look closely

at contrast.”

Explaining further, Silver says those in the video industry, including

the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), are examining

ways to develop ’smart’ dimming where the content ’directs‘ displays

to dim.

“The question is can they monetise the technology to include it in

video displays?” he says. “Contrast remains the single most important

feature in evaluating a TV.”

Backing up his statements on contrast ratio, Silver says dealers need

to examine the CEA/CEDIA-CEB23-A: Home Theater Video Design

specification that was updated back in 2012, which defines criteria for

home theatre setup and performance. It’s a good place to start

when thinking about commercial installations, too.

Silver, who was a part of the expert panel that created the jointly

developed guidelines, points out the 150:1 contrast ratio checker-

board pattern in CEB-23-A is unattainable for most systems, including

commercial systems.

“What I aspire to when I work with home theatre builders is that

150:1 contrast ratio. It is only really possible with a well-engineered

room and system,” he says. “If a room has white walls, it doesn’t

matter how good the screen and projector are [it won’t perform to

the guidelines].”

Summing up what dealers should concentrate on as the market

continues to evolve, Silver is succinct. His advice applies to designing

and setting up virtually any type of flat-panel or projection system.

“Contrast is number one, secondly colour saturation, and the third

thing is colour accuracy. The fourth thing is resolution, but it is nowhere

as important as the other three,” Silver emphasises. “The first thing

dealers should do when presenting to clients is to talk about good TVs

before getting to 4K.”

“Dealers need to consider performance parameters and ask

themselves when evaluating TVs, are the blacks and whites really

good? Does the TV’s dynamic range give you the punch you are

looking for? Can it deliver the [brightness] spec for theatres [14.4-foot

lamberts (fL)]? TVs like Sharp’s Elite put out more than 20fLs. So dealers

need to ask the clients if they want a good TV before they talk about

4K… I don’t worry about the market at all. The market speaks for itself

and that is why $1 000 4K TVs aren’t doing well in the market.”

Story republished courtesy Commercial Integrator.

+27 11 840 0860 [email protected] www.peripheralvision.co.za

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24

IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon adVErtoriaL

increases AV focus in SA

Acer is excited to announce that it is inviting AV integration distributors

to become a distributor for Acer projectors and monitors in the AV

market. Following the successful uptake of other Acer products

including laptops, desktops, tablets and smartphones by consumers

in South Africa, the company now plans to introduce and promote its

products aimed at the AV market; these products include the latest

projectors, monitors and digital signage.

Acer uses digital light processing (DLP) technology in its projectors

and digital signage products and – as Acer’s statistics state – the

brand offers the number one source of products with DLP technology

in the Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) region.

Acer projectors have several unique benefits that are derived from

DLP technology, which include colour integrity (no colour decay),

contrast advantage, less screen door effect, fast switching speed and

a filter-free design. The colour saturation and intensity are highly

enhanced with BrilliantColor technology, they offer a deeper black

colour, sharper image on data, long-lasting image quality and

optimized 6-segment colour wheel design for boosting colour

saturation growth by 20% to 30% with wide colour gamut. Compared

to an LCD projector, the DLP projector produces less noise in

operation and its sealed chip resists degradation in dusty

environments, also maintenance costs are significantly lower than

those of LCD projectors.

Acer’s constant research and development illustrates its endeavour

towards bigger, better, longer-lasting image quality in projectors and

as a result of high expectations of consumers who want only the best

resolution and quality, owing to the constant improvement of digital

signage, monitors and (especially) televisions they use at home. These

high consumer expectations motivate Acer to offer state-of-the-art

projector technology and to develop projectors that offer higher

resolution, bigger screens and improved colours.

Acer ColorBoost 3D and ColorSafe technologies offer superior

colour performance, with all kinds of contents-based on chip DLP,

six-segment colour wheel design and lamp control capabilities. They

provide a true-to-life image even while displaying 3D or 2D-3D

content. ColorBoost3D has the ability to reduce brightness decay and

colour shift when displaying 3D or 2D-3D contents through enhancing

colour brightness. At the same time, it compensates colour saturation

and colour temperature. In addition, users can enjoy true 3D effect

through following the easy set-up. Acer is also accredited for its ‘EcoProjection’, which means the

technology has been measured against accepted standards for

sustainability and responsibility to the environment. Acer highlights the

add-on value of projectors equipped with distinct environment-

caring features by displaying an Acer EcoProjection logo.

“End-users nowadays are expecting to have their AV products with

wider viewing angles, improved sharpness and the ultra-resolution

such as 4K2K. No one can yet offer a 4K2K resolution projector for

daily applications other than for cinemas, but we at Acer are working

on it with Texas Instruments DLP technology to bring that ultra-

resolution to our projectors. In order to address the demand on high

resolution at present, Acer offers premium P7605 with WUXGA

resolution which is higher than full HD,” says .

Acer has also improved, and continues to improve, the product

and feature performance of its monitors, particularly those used for

boardrooms and digital signage for educational use, mobile use and

home theatre. Acer has 53% market share for the third quarter in 2014

in SA for projector business and Acer now provides total solutions in

the South African market.

The Acer product family covers screen sizes from one inch up to 100

inches and it is firmly placed as a go-to, one-stop solution provider for

all home and corporate AV requirements – for business travelers and

in rural areas that don’t have access to electricity.

Acer is thrilled to announce that it is placing more emphasis on its AV market in south Africa, to offer new and existing customers a total solution for their AV needs…

hung s liu, senior business manager, Product Business unit, eMeA for Acer europe sA

Americas n Europe n Asia

www.etcconnect.comFor 24 hour Technical Support call 081-010-3198 www.prosound.co.za

Liolà, National Theatre, London, lighting design by Neil Austin, photo © Max Narula

Graph represents R08 spectral distribution.

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26

IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon opinion

SA’s AV industry should suit up and embrace global standards

The result of this rapid expansion in the local AV space is that the industry is still largely dominated

by companies that don’t have the technical skills to deliver complex solutions that clients are

currently looking for.

This is hardly surprising. The industry is fiercely competitive, so training often falls by the wayside

in the scramble to win new business and keep customers happy. These retrenchments are

forcing more people to create their own businesses, which means that there are many more

unqualified companies vying for a piece of the pie. And for clients, it’s hard to sort the credible

players from the fly-by-nights.

Complicating the picture is the fact that our business is a multidisciplinary one, which also

needs some understanding of IT, environmental design and more. But for the long term health of

our industry, we need to place more of a focus in professional standards, based on the latest

international best practices.

Even though the industry is largely unregulated, international standards and certifications are

a good place to start. For example, InfoComm provides a range of best practices and training

courses to the industry. InfoComm is the trade association representing the professional

audiovisual and information communications industries worldwide. Its university offers a range of

courses covering management, design and installation of AV solutions.

Though they are somewhat North-America centric, these courses are a good way to

benchmark basic proficiency. Someone with the InfoComm Certified Technology Specialist

(CTS) certification has demonstrated his or her audiovisual knowledge and skills in an exam. At

Corporate AV, we use this as our basic benchmark.

The Southern African Communications Industries Association (SACIA) – a trade association

that promotes adoption of professional standards and ethical business practice in the

communications industry – has partnered with InfoComm.

Executive director Kevan Jones says that he hopes that government and universities will back

the work SACIA and InfoComm are doing to bring relevant AV qualifications to South Africa.

SACIA members get a discount on InfoComm Training. In addition, suppliers such as TID and

Electrosonic offer free training to help build the local skills base.

In addition to this industry training, there is certainly no shortage of manufacturer-based

stefan Mayer

Corporate south Africa’s demand for audio-visual solutions is growing at a rapid pace, but training and professional standards are not keeping up with the expansion of the market, according to stefan Mayer, managing director of Corporate AV integration.

training. Good AV solutions providers will invest in keeping their staff

certified to work on the latest products from the leading vendors, in

addition will encourage them to be certified with InfoComm.

This is, as I mentioned earlier, just a starting point. As an industry, we

should start looking at what we can do to create a solid base of skills

for the future as well as to further professionalise our industry.

It is in our interests to lift standards so that we can improve customer

satisfaction and demonstrate the value of services for which we

charge good money. SACIA can offer some independent guidance

to recruiters in the AV industry as they look for skills.

Perhaps we need to initiate discussions with universities and

technical colleges, with a view to getting AV courses on the

curriculum alongside traditional IT courses? We should almost

certainly start thinking more about career paths that we can offer

young people entering the industry.

Given the wide and often technical skill sets required by the AV

industry – IT skills as well as electrical, sound and electronic

engineering skills – practical apprenticeships could help cultivate the

people we need. All too often people are learning from sales and

management rather than from the trade, resulting in poor

skills transfer.

It’s also important for corporate clients in the AV sector to start

holding their AV integrators to higher standards. They should ask their

integrators what qualifications their employees have and what sort of

investment they make in training their people.

Just as an enterprise wouldn’t want someone without the relevant

certification tinkering with its networks and servers, it should not allow

someone without the right qualifications to work on its AV products

and systems.

27

28

IntegratIon & InstallatIon ADVERTORIAL

A brand new audio visual distributor is born

“ LET ’S DO IT ”

A new company, Alpha Distribution Technologies, has been formed

to service the professional audio visual market.

Two directors from Audio Visual Centre will be heading up Alpha

Distribution Technologies that distributes and supports audio, visual

and automation products to the southern African dealer market.

Marc Gelman and Spencer Thomas will join Ivan Guerin and Joseph

Milan as directors of the company at a later date but will play a key

role in the managing of Alpha Distribution Technologies until

such time.

Alpha Distribution Technologies combines the collective

experience of Guerin and Milan; Guerin has more than 30 years

experience in providing audio visual solutions, manufacturing and

installations. Milan is an all-round entrepreneur who in the past five

years has contributed to the meteoric success in developing a

reliable supplier base of products and stock holding of the major

brands, which migrate to Alpha Distribution Technologies as part of

the exclusive sale and distribution agreement between the

two companies.

Things to look forward to in Alpha Distribution Technologies include

ongoing dealer training at a new in-house training centre, a variety of

themed showrooms, an authorised Sony projector repair centre that

will also provide full audio visual product repair and support.

Gelman and Thomas, currently the owners of Audio Codes, will be

involved in the audio and home automation side of the business: “We

see their inclusion of Audio Codes in Alpha Distribution Technologies

as integral to our long term vision of being an all-encompassing

and truly dedicated AV and automation distributor,” says Milan.

The formation of Alpha Distribution Technologies sees staff from

both companies come together to offer continuity and

dedication of a distribution service of brands including

GrandView, Smart-Bus, Sony, Evoko, PowerLite and PTN, as well as

dealer support to the reseller market as a whole, while at the

same time separating itself from any interest in the end-user

market. The company is also set to introduce audio products into

its offering in the near future.

The need for a separate company was identified by the

directors of Audio Visual Centre – Guerin and Milan – who will also

completely separate themselves from Audio Visual Centre once

the transition from Audio Visual Centre to Alpha Distribution

Technologies has been completed.

The transition in becoming a completely independent company

from Audio Visual Centre could take up to 18 months, but as from

1 March 2015, Audio Visual Centre will be a dealer of

Alpha Distribution Technologies.

Unit B5, Northlands Deco Park Phase 2, 29 Newmarket Road, Northriding, [email protected] 462 5495www.alphatechnolgies.co.za




viva afrika

K-LA28 Dual 8” 3 Way Passive Line Array

Frequency Response (+/- 6dB anechoic chamber): 60 – 20 000Hz

Average Sensitivity: 96dB/1W/1m

Drivers: Beyma customised drivers

Connectors: 2 x NEUTRIK Speakon NLT4MP

Power Rating (AES): LF 200 + MF 200 + HF 50W

Passive X-over Frequency: 450Hz / 2.2kHz Passive

Weight: 19Kg


K-LA Series

Core TechnologyThe K-LA series is primarily used for fi xed installation

and touring systems. The result of in-depth research,

the Audiocenter R&D team has developed the unique

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PF218B+ Dual 18” Bass Bin

Frequency Response (+/- 6dB anechoic chamber): 32 – 300Hz

Average Sensitivity: 102dB/1W/1m

Drivers (LF): Audiocenter customised ferrite drivers, 4” voice coil

Connectors: 2 x NEUTRIK Speakon NLT4MP

Power Rating (RMS): 1600W

Hi-pass fi lter: 38Hz full range (24dB/oct Butterworth)

Weight: 91Kg


The K-LA series is primarily used for fi xed installation

and touring systems. The result of in-depth research,

the Audiocenter R&D team has developed the unique

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30

IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon rEport

Prosound expertise called upon to install complex sound system in Philippines ArenaProsound continues to add to its already impressive résumé – this time in the Philippines.

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rEport IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIon

Purpose-building communications and paging systems for large

performing arts centres in the 1980s; preparing a site for one million

people for the Pope in remote Lesotho; staging the return of the

Swapo liberation movement in Namibia; staging the release event of

Nelson Mandela and later his inauguration; supplying 10 of 11 FIFA

World Cup soccer 2010 stadiums; and staging Nelson Mandela’s

commemoration service with only 48 hours notice – Just a handful of

examples of Prosound’s abilities but nothing could have prepared

them for the magnitude of work to install the sound system in

Philippines Arena.

In early 2013 engineers at Electro-Voice (EV) / Bosch in Germany

and Dubai contacted Prosound South Africa regarding a very large

EV sound system due to be installed in the largest indoor arena in the

world. Prosound and EV have a 35-year relationship and the

installation expertise of Prosound is acknowledged internationally. The

question posed by EV / Bosch was whether the South African

company would be interested in installing this system as its size and

complexity required deep experience and detailed skill.

Contact was made with the local contractor – EVI Philippines – that

paid for two senior Prosound engineers to visit Manilla in July 2013.

Mark Malherbe, Prosound technical director and Boy Magnussen, the

company’s electro mechanical expert, met Lito Dungca and Reynald

Rodil from EVI Philippines in their offices for the first briefing on the

scope of the project. This was followed by a site visit.

It is rather difficult to explain the size of something that has never

been constructed before and is twice the size of any indoor arena in

Europe or the UK. Seating up to 65 000 people, a dome of 36 000

square metres, a 160-metre roof span and a ceiling height of 65

metres all built to be earthquake-proof. The sound system design for

this amazing venue was by Engineering Harmonics in Canada and

EV had met the specifications with XLC line arrays.

the installation

The Philippines Arena was built for Iglesea Ni Christo (INC), a Christian

church which celebrated its 100th anniversary with the opening of the

Arena. Besides the religious services the venue is built for multi-

purpose hosting music, conventions, theatre and sports. The arena

site, Ciudad de Victoria, also boasts a 25 000 open-air stadium, an

indoor sports centre and in the future medical facilities, a university

campus and hotels.

INC had assembled international architects and engineers to set

world-class standards for the daunting projects so the task for

Prosound was going to be exacting.

The aim was for the loudspeaker systems to be installed during

December 2013 in time for preview shows in the venue during the

early part of 2014 to culminate in the Centennial celebrations to take

place around 27 July 2014. For Prosound, planning this meant a

contracting site that is 11 500 km away with freight times of five weeks

and minimum clearance times of two weeks. Excluding any design

time or manufacture preparation had to include two months – just to

cover the delivery time.

Of greater concern was the paper trail for approvals, involving:

Prosound to EVI, to the Church INC, to the Main Contractor, to Hanwa

and the same path back to Prosound. Revisions and approvals were

potentially long and arduous processes. On top of this, some design

processes would involve approval from EV / Bosch, based in Germany

/ Dubai with attendant delays.

After further meetings at EVI it became apparent that Prosound

had a lot more to offer than just the loudspeaker brackets. An

evaluation of the entire sound system installation and supply of

bespoke materials took place.

Prosound agreed to bid on the line array exoskeletons, all of the

equipment racks for both control and amplification, power

distribution units for all racks,

UPS units for all racks and all loudspeaker cabling systems from

racks to clusters, as well as oversight for the installation.

loudspeakers

Prosound proposed a loudspeaker cabling system that would be

based on the use of Socapex multipins, enabling all cabling to be

prepared in South Africa and shipped as a ready-to-use entity. The

racks were prewired to Socapex panels and then a series of Socapex

to Speakon mults were manufactured to suit each cluster. In addition

Socapex to Socapex extensions were provided for clusters to be

checked on the ground and for future servicing.

As time was of the essence, budgets were prepared and presented

while the team was still in Manila on the first visit. These were

accepted by EV and INC and go ahead was given to Prosound.

On returning to SA and meeting with the balance of the

contracting team, it was accepted that although Prosound had

successfully managed all of the steel work for the sound systems at

2010 stadia, the tropical conditions and earthquake potential on this

project had to be considered. It was agreed to employ the services of

a structural engineer (Drake Engineering) from the word go. This

would enable computer simulations of designs prior to manufacture

and a guarantee of suitability.

The total requirement was 18 x Electro-Voice XLC line arrays, 12 for

the upper bowl and six for the lower bowl with each hang comprising

16 cabinets. Two EV XLD line arrays of 14 cabinets each for rear

seating fill and four EV XLC sub arrays each comprising 10 cabinets.

Preliminary drawings were prepared and sent to EVI and EV for

concept approval which was given after minor revisions allowing for

full modelling.

A large stumbling block in the whole rigging process was getting

the understanding of the exoskeleton concept across to Hanwa and

thengetting even cursory approval to hang from the roof structure.

Prosound presented a clamp and steel cable hanging concept with

multiple bridle points for load spreading, although accepted in

principal the concern remained that the thickness of the roof chords

was not uniform, therefore the exact position on each beam had to

be predetermined to guarantee load bearing.

The time taken for this exercise was further exacerbated due to the

lack of reflected ceiling plans showing all services and that although

EV had plotted speaker positions, these did not take into account the

fact that for installation to take place it would be essential that

walkways were in a similar locale.

While waiting for confirmation of the hanging positions and

methodology, although the exoskeletons were approved,

manufacture could not start, as the final fixing steels could not

be designed.

Amplifiers

In conjunction with the delays in hanging approval, further problems

were encountered with the equipment rack locations for the

amplifiers. The walkways in the roof had multiple issues, the load

bearing was not determined, they were not level as they followed the

roof profile and cable trays were mounted horizontally on the actual

tread area minimising available space.

The impact here was that leveling systems needed to be designed

for the racks that would include a percentage of load spreading,

while fitting over, but not obstructing cable trays. There were also

32


constant problems of overhead aircon ducts that were not on the

supplied drawings but would be in the way of the rack. Apart from

the delays created here, the other major implication was that final

power and cable containment outlets could also not be determined

until the rack locations were finalised.

With all of the approval delays it meant that manufacturing could

only commence in November, which precluded meeting the original

December deadline.

The equipment racks were stainless steel and included internal

wiring and custom mains power distribution.

Preparation started in December 2013 and by this stage Prosound

had missed the shipping deadlines for any containers until the

beginning of January. Finding space to work on 28 racks

simultaneously devoured sizeable floor space and ended up taking

over the entire Prosound Johannesburg sales office.

Each rack had two prewired socapex connectors terminated for

the EV TG7 amplifiers that would be mounted in Manila. All blank

panels and brush panels were preloaded and the correct cage nuts

positioned. Mating bolts and washers were supplied as part of the

contract.

Because the loudspeaker bracket delivery would only be done

after the December shutdown, the racks and hanging steels were

shipped first. This meant that work could commence on site with the

placement, then loading of the racks and that Boy Magnussen would

be able to go out and instruct on the installation of the first stage

steels, such as the bridle points to the cluster hook oblong.

The racks were finished and commissioned in Johannesburg just

prior to Christmas 2013 and shipping was scheduled for early January.

This meant that arrival on site would be mid-March 2014.

Weakness

The loudspeaker support skeletons hit a complication when computer

simulations detected a potential weakness on a support strut. This

required re-design and consequently the decision was taken to

manufacture these large brackets bracket in two parts, as a single

unit became impossible to man handle.

The practical reality was that on site the seats were in place so the

preparation of a hang of 16 line array boxes on a massive vertical

bracket had to be considered. Lifting machines could not access it so

plenty of manpower was drawn upon.

Malherbe had traveled to Korea in early 2014 to set up the sound

for a production of Jersey Boys the Musical and visited the site in

Manila on his way back to SA. It was apparent that the site was not

ready for any of the audio system installation and that there was still

not a clear understanding by the Korean engineers of the works to be

undertaken by EVI.

Prosound initiated a meeting of the professional team and ran

through what the requirements for the installation were with specific

reference to roof locations and load bearing. Prosound devised a

method of using brightly coloured paper in the roof to indicate the

required positions that could be seen from below as it was impossible

to get an overall picture from up in the roof.

Dates were agreed for the first fix visit of brackets onto the beams

and steel ropes accurately prepared to accept the motors to lift the

speaker clusters. Further project deadlines were confirmed as a

non-negotiable completion in July 2014.

Back in Johannesburg the loudspeaker brackets were completed

and test hangs undertaken using the EV XLC cabinets. Fortunately the

design and preparation was of a standard that only few minor

Flown arrays in the Philippines Arena

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changes were required.

Magnussen went back to Manila on in April 2014 and with the

assistance of the local riggers, started the steel cable installation. A

hurdle that had to be overcome early in these works was to

determine the actual location of the clusters once up in the roof as for

obvious reasons they had to be very accurate.

Prosound devised a method of using phone compasses against

plotted locations, which proved 100% successful. Once these works

were firmly underway, Magnussen overcame the rigging of

loudspeakers over the seats by designing and getting approval for

large temporary platforms.

During this period Malherbe again visited site, and additional works

were discussed and agreed on, which included supplying racks for

the control areas; 12 x 42 unit c/w power distribution and UPS.

The curve ball was the outdoor stadium sound system had an

excellent design of distributed Electro-Voice EVH loudspeakers – 60 in

total – and Prosound was asked to design and manufacture all the

brackets and initiate the installation and plan and supply the

necessary racks and all the cable.

exacting

This also demands a daily dynamic involvement with onsite issues.

Charles Markotter is the head systems engineer for Prosound and his

years of practical experience within the company proved invaluable

on such Philippines projects. He prepared the detailed drawings for

racking and cabling and importantly assisting with the complex

network design for the EV Netmax sound system processors. There

were 44 in total, an exacting task to integrate.

With the seriously difficult part of the loudspeaker installation about

to commence, EVI Philippines expressed concern as to the

experience of their local riggers. Prosound decided that these riggers

were capable however, the oversight of the company’s head rigger,

Tee Tebogo, for the cluster installs, would guarantee an efficient and

problem-free installation. In addition Magnussen went back out to

train the riggers and to ensure that the platform method would work

in preparation for Tebogo’s arrival.

The cluster installations and other works were hindered by the

electrical power distribution not being completed within the main

contract. EVI had to undertake this extensive work to avoid delays to

the project. In reality the cluster hangs happened with temporary

power and Tebogo ensured that every amp channel and every

loudspeaker component was checked prior to lifting.

Tebogo and Magnussen oversaw the first cluster installation and

then Magnussen returned to SA leaving Tebogo to complete the

entire installation, which constituted 40 days of work in tropical

temperatures and thick humidity.

Tebogo and Magnussen later oversaw the initial loudspeaker

installation in the stadium to ensure correct install methodology and

structural integrity.

A final oddment thrown at Prosound due to the success of the

Prosound manufactured power distribution equipment for the 40

racks, a request was made for portable 400-amp stage power

distribution systems. Prosound supplied a design of two 400A portable

DB boards with primary output connectors from four positions, cables

and mating connections. This was accepted and consequently

manufactured in Johannesburg. Unfortunately the late order meant

that these were not complete for the opening but were supplied later.

The complete installation of the arena speaker system was

completed by the first week of July. All systems were mechanically

correct, all electrical and electronic circuits were continuous and

correct and all electro-acoustic components were in order

for operation.

EV / Bosch carried out their system alignment which was further

tweaked by Malherbe for the opening events for which he was the

production manager for sound. The completion of this project was

another unique page in the Prosound history book. – On time, to

specification and within budget.

Array lift in process

Array at ground level ready to fly

Bracket fitting into array

34


in the age that we currently live in it’s easy to see the increasing quality that display media has experienced. hD tVs are now commonplace and usurp their predecessors, Crt displays, with such veracity that it’s difficult to believe we ever settled for less. indeed, with 4K resolution on our doorsteps in display and projection technologies, one has to wonder, what lies beyond that realm and, to quote the now trite adage: “what will they think of next?”

Musion Africa – Mardi Gras Theatre, Carnival City

3D holographic projection at the Mardi gras theatre at Carnival City

35


Well, they’ve already thought of it. 3D has come back in style in the

last few years and this is evident in the slew of 3D movies that have

occupied our theatres and in the proliferation of 3D HD TVs we can

now enjoy in our home. However the drawback to this type of 3D

technology has always been a loss in luminosity and the need to

wear those pesky glasses, which reduces it to more of a fad that

seems, thankfully, to be passing. However, there is another kind of

technology under the ‘3D’ umbrella that is a pleasure to view –

without any loss in luminosity or requiring any glasses – and actually

astounds the senses at the sheer realism of it all.

I am talking about 3D holographic projection. Anyone

remember the ‘resurrection’ of Tupac Shakur at Coachella festival a

few years ago? Well, the company behind that, hailing from the

UK, is called Musion 3D and they have come to our shores under

distribution of Musion Africa, run by CEO Ellen van den Burg and

Chico De Almeida. Musion aims to change the way we view and

interact with media of all sorts in the entertainment, corporate,

educational, political, digital resurrection and even the

TelePresence sectors by bringing 3D holographic projection to

the fore.

Musion Africa recently installed a system in the Mardi Gras

Theatre at Carnival City to showcase the technology and is involved

in other campaigns and installations both locally and in other

locations around the continent including at the Mozambique

National Stadium. The system at Carnival City was installed by local

AV experts System Solutions, a Gearhouse Group company.

A bit of background

Musion as a technology has its origins in 1996 when it was developed

and installed at the Swarovski Museum in Austria. The inventor of the

technology, Uwe Maass, founded a laser show company in 1988

through his experience in the live events industry in Germany and in

1992, through his affinity for 3D technology, he invented the first

polarised 3D laser projector. However, his dissatisfaction with the use

of those aforementioned pesky glasses, Maass founded Musion 3D in

1997 following the Swarovski Museum ‘pilot’ and once again

constructed their first Eyeliner – the technology used to resurrect

Tupac Shakur at Coachella – for Swarovski.

The Eyeliner is, essentially, the modern version of an old Victorian-

era theatrical illusion called ‘Pepper’s ghost’. The trick has been used

in theatre, haunted houses, dark rides and magic shows for centuries

and has its primordial origins in the 16th-Century under Neapolitan

scientist and scholar Giambattista della Porta. Della Porta is also

credited with the invention of camera obscura, an optical device

that led to the invention of photography and the camera.

Pepper’s ghost, named after John Henry Pepper – the man who

popularised the effect – uses plate glass, Plexiglass or plastic film and

special lighting techniques to create the illusion of objects appearing

or disappearing, becoming transparent or to make one object

morph into another. The objects are most often placed in a hidden

room called a ‘blue room’ where they are lit and reflected off of the

glass, creating the impression of a ghost or hologram.

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36


A famous example of this technique in action is the world-famous

Haunted Mansion rides at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and

Disneyland Tokyo. In those cases the glass is vertically orientated in

relation to viewer. Animated props are then reflected below and

above the viewer which creates the illusion of three-dimensional,

luminous ‘ghosts’ that seemingly dance through the ballroom and

interact with physical props on the ballroom floor. The key is that the

light reflected on the props causes the ghosts to appear

and disappear.

This, in essence, is the way Musion’s technology works albeit without

the need for props or a hidden room because a permanently

mounted HD projector is used as a programme source. The projector

is usually mounted above the stage and is aimed at a ‘bounce

screen’ (a custom-made, white cinema-type screen) installed into the

stage floor where an inverse video of the material is projected.

Musion’s patented, translucent foil is then rigged at a 45 degree angle

across the stage and the content projected onto the bounce screen

is reflected in the foil, giving the illusion of a 3D hologram. The higher

the resolution of the playback video: the higher the resolution of the

hologram. With the inclusion of some clever back-lighting, the result is

a completely undetectable 3D holographic performance that seems

to defy reality and, with modern CGI effects, the constraints of physics

as well.

Carnival City – Mardi gras theatre

Musion SA has been driven by Ellen van den Berg, a passionate and

enthusiastic entrepreneur who is very excited about the product

because it holds so many opportunities in so many sectors. Indeed, it

could revolutionise the way we view and interact with display media.

Van den Berg contacted Roger Feldmann from local AV experts

System Solutions who then teamed up with Musion to supply the

correct equipment specification for the installation at Carnival City’s

Mardi Gras Theatre. Feldmann then brought in local lighting experts

DWR to supply the lighting and truss and our local Christie

representatives, who supplied the projector.

Starting on the stage, the bounce screen is an 11.8m x 3m,

non-perforated web and eye Stagelite Contrast screen. This is

mounted in a triangular Prolyte H30D truss frame on the floor of the

stage and is out of view of the audience by a blackened border

3D holographic performance

37


because obviously it is undesirable to give away any secrets of the

technology during the performance.

The foil screen is oriented at 45 degrees in relation to the stage, is

12m wide by 4m high and is framed by Prolyte H40V truss. The foil is

Musion’s proprietary design and is virtually undetectable in low-

lighting theatre conditions. In fact, I would say given that the rest of

the equipment is virtually standard such as the bounce screen and

the truss, it is the foil which provides the ‘magic’ of the illusion.

The projector spec’d was a Christie Roadster HD20KJ, mounted in a

box of Prolyte H30V truss 6.3m above the stage.

Playback equipment consists of an Avstumpfl Wings Engine Install

Dual in a 19”, 4U rack-mount multi-display video server. This runs Wings

Vioso projector mapping software, Wings Touch interactive user

interface creation software and AVIO manager, Wings’

network protocol.

The rest of the supplied equipment is lighting, to add ambiance

and flair to the 3D holograms. This brings an air of ‘liveness’ to the

show and bumps up the realism a notch for showmanship’s sake. In

summary, the lighting fixtures include eight Robe MMX Spots, eight

Robe Robin 300 LED Washes and eight Robe Robin LED Beam 100s.

the wrap

When I was a child I was lucky enough to be taken to Walt Disney

World in Florida by my parents. I still remember standing in that

endless queue for the Haunted Mansion ride and when my eyes

finally fell upon the ‘ghosts’ dancing on the ballroom floor, my mind

was perplexed at how this was possible. Little did I know that a

good 20 years down the line this trick would be drastically

revolutionised in the form of what we see today in technologies

such as Musion 3D. The key here is that as projection technology

has progressed to offer such definition and quality to the point that

these new ideas can be recreated and refined for a viewer

experience at a level never before conceived. Viewing the results

for myself was just as perplexing to my modernised mind and I’m

sure the technology will find its way into many sectors in the

near future.

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2014 product highlights

Apple Yosemite and ios-8

iOS 8 has a convenient new way to respond to notifications, helpful

shortcuts to the people that business people talk to most, and

time-saving features for managing mail – all of which make the

experience of using iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that much better.

Apple Yosemite has the ability to perform quick calculations and

conversions. The calendar is a little more intelligent, autocompleting

attendees if one creates a regular event. There’s also a lot more

space for editing existing events. Markup in Mail is useful and Mail

Drop is more so. Along with iCloud Drive, Mail Drop means the need

for DropBox will be less frequent.

Integrator opinion:

“With this combination, the seamless integration between fixed and mobile devices is unbeatable, saving time and removing hassle.” – gavin olivier, managing director, Digital Fabric.

Avaya scopia Xt5000 telepresence Platform

The Avaya Scopia XT Telepresence Platform creates a lifelike,

immersive experience replicating the feeling of meeting in-person. The

Scopia XT Telepresence Platform is customisable to the unique

requirements of individual rooms and customer needs.

Integrator opinion:

“We have had the privilege of installing a custom telepresence solution at a few of our client’s branches. The Scopia XT5000 Telepresence solution impressed us with its versatility, allowing the integrator to tailor the solution to the customer’s exact needs. Calibration of the cameras was effortless, even though the boardroom table in the solution was a round design. It was possible to create the perfect illusion of being in the same room as the far-end, with the table flowing into the display, connecting the rooms physically. The video quality is superb, with life-like scale being portrayed. This platform uses H.264 High Profile and SVC (Scalable Video Coding), lowering bandwidth and providing high network error resiliency.” – Marnus swart, AV/VC engineer, ubuntu technologies.

Crestron DMPs 300-C

The Crestron DMPS 300-C is a complete presentation control and

signal routing solution for boardrooms and classrooms. Integrating the

control system, multimedia matrix switcher, mic mixer, audio DSP,

amplifier and DigitalMedia distribution centre all into a single

three-space rackmount package, the DMPS-300-C affords

substantial signal routing flexibility and high-performance signal

processing without the need for separate components.

Integrator opinion:

“It’s one of the most useful and versatile pieces of equipment currently available for the boardroom space. It’s not cheap, but simplifies the installation and works every time.” – stefan Mayer, managing director, Corporate AV integration.

As 2014 came to a close, Pro-Systems’ thuli Mlambo set out to chat to AV integrators and live entertainment professionals to find out which products and apps made their work easier during 2014.

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rEport IntegrAtIon & InStAllAtIonCrestron DMPs3-4K-150-C

The Crestron DMPS3-4K-150-C provides a 4K multi-format presentation

switcher with fully automatic operation and DigitalMedia

connectivity. It works seamlessly out of the box with up to four

Crestron Connect It tabletop interfaces.

Integrator opinion:

“It’s an ultra HD Switcher / Scaler that supports 4K. It is HDBaseT-compliant with an auto-switching feature therefore requires no programming. If you want to programme then it also includes a Core-3 Crestron processor. In our view it’s a complete all-in-one solution perfect for small boardrooms. We are currently including this product in our system designs.” – Darryl Katz, managing director, 4ward-design.

Kramer VP-435 Component / uXgA hDMi scaler

The unit, which incorporates HDMI technology, scales incoming video

signals and outputs an HDMI signal with any associated audio

embedded. The VP-435 is ideal for projection systems in conference

rooms, boardrooms, hotels and churches, as well as for home theatre

and residential use.

Integrator opinion:

“It is a simple auto switching for HDMI and VGA input to HDMI output.” – stefan Mayer, managing director, Corporate AV integration.

ePson iProjection App and software

The EPSON iProjection App and Software displays content from an

iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android smartphones and tablets. This

new application allows road warriors to travel lightly and present from

their mobile devices.

Integrator opinion:

“It’s an innovative smartphone or tablet app that makes it possible for hotel guests and meeting delegates in corporate environments to connect wirelessly (via WAN, LAN or WiFi) to the projector and present seamlessly. We make particular use of this technology and it is one of the cornerstones of our integration service. EPSON were the first to perfect this and make it available on the App Stores for Google, Android and iOS devices. There are more innovative features coming in January 2015. The tangible benefits are: more immersive meetings, delegates use their own familiar technology, time saving setup, cross-platform integration… and more.” – Kevin MacMillan Craig, director of innovation, Converged Connectivity.

D-tools system integrator siX

D-Tools System Integrator SIX 2013 is a complete estimation, system

design and project management solution that scales to fit the needs

of your business – from large commercial integrators to small

residential companies. SIX can help you increase revenues as well as

reduce time and costs associated with the installation and integration

of audio visual, energy, home automation, security and IT networking

systems.

Integrator opinion:

“It makes quotation, system design, project management and implementation accurate and simple.” – richard hill-Jowett ,Ceo , Audiovisual Designs.

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Avolites Media Ai Media server Infinity EX Series

The Ai Infinity server features eight unique full HD DVI outputs, each

with internal EDID management and production and preview

connectors. The EX range now adds third generation PCI Express

motherboards, graphics cards and RAID SSD drives for ultimate

performance.

The Infinity server includes many more unique hardware features,

such as LTC timecode input, DMX 512 and Artnet output and a front

panel touch screen showing the Ai Visualiser. All of these features

reduce the requirement for other separate rack mounted products

which also reduces the overall project budget and saves on precious

rack space.

“The Infinity EX8 revolutionises the way in which video content is played back, especially onto 3D surfaces, where the server plays content on

3D mesh models in a virtual environment. Unique in class tools such as individual projector mesh correction makes this an incredibly powerful

tool for video mapping applications.

End-user opinion:

Projector placement and content warping is now really fast to setup, and with Ai’s projector mesh correction tools, the content can be mapped

onto the physical objects perfectly in a matter of minutes.

The other really attractive feature of the product is the flexibility the program’s interface offers. The core underlying program is build-on modules

which are wired together in the order you wish to use them in, the user can largely determine how certain features and effects engines behave.

This, coupled with the flexibility to control the server from various control surfaces, really won us over.” – Mike tempest, senior audio visual engineer and development, gearhouse group.

Ayrton MagicPanel 602

MAGICPANEL™602 is a modular LED luminaire allowing for a broad range of diverse

visual effects . Equipped with continuous unlimited PAN & TILT rotation, it is able to display

media thank to its ArtNet inpout/output or to be controlled via DMX RDM protocol

through its XLR connectors.

The display is made up of 36 15 Watt LED RGBW modules fitted with high-output 7,5°

45-mm optics, the unit runs on a sophisticated and particularly quiet cooling system and

offers an overall luminous flux in excess of 14.000 lumen for a consumption of 600 Watt.

End-user opinion:

“I haven’t seen an innovative light like this in quite a while and it is phenomenal when it

comes to creating visual and 3D effects. It boasts a lot of features which make it unique

and different to any other light on the market, such as unlimited pan and tilt rotation,

which means it can be spun around in any direction for as long as you like. Making use of

the new 4G Ayrton technology, each of its 36 LED modules can be controlled

individually allowing you to create images, numbers and even logos. The possibilities are

endless with this product and it ensures a world class event whenever it is used.”

– sean Crawley, hoD lighting, sound stylists.

robe MMX spot

It is a new technology discharge fixture that has similar light output to most existing 1 200 W

luminaires. The unit is based on the new Robin advanced technology design that provides

brighter, more efficient, physically lighter and smaller fixtures than previously possible.

End-user opinion:

“It is an awesome light to use; it is very powerful and versatile with the effects wheel and

projection gobos. It provides brighter, more efficient, physically lighter and smaller fixtures.

MMX has the ‘dual graphics wheel’ – two fully controllable contra-rotating plates that can be

positioned anywhere across the light path to produce unique visual effects.”

– Christiaan Ballot, managing director, Blond Productions.

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Coolux Pandoras Box server and ManagerPandoras Box server

Pandoras Box Server system offers a turnkey solution that perfectly

unites state-of-the-art rendering technology with intuitive media and

show control. A high-quality server featuring a powerful render-engine

offers real-time compositing in 3D and allows for projection onto any

shape and on any surface.

Pandoras Box Manager

The Pandoras Box Manager re-defines real-time editing and playback

control. This standalone software allows synchronisation and remote

control of all Pandoras Box media playback products via network. The

built-in sequences and cue-based timeline interface enables you to

control Pandoras Box Servers, Players as well as interfacing with all

kinds of external controllers via TCP/IP, Serial RS232/422, SMPTE, DMX,

Art-Net, analog and digital industrial sensors.

End-user opinion:

“It is a media server and show control system which is both stable and versatile, allowing operators to 3D warp, blend, mask or pixel map with

ease. No matter what you need to do on your event, coolux can handle it! The only limitation it has comes in the form of you, the user! If you can

dream it, it can do it!” – Jason Cole, hoD /AV, Dream sets.

JBl VtX line array series

VtX V25

The VTX V25 is a full size three-way

high-directivity line array element. The

VTX V25 features two 2 000 W 15-inch

Differential Drive woofers mounted in die

cast aluminium baffles, with four 8-inch

Differential Drive midrange transducers

and three of the revolutionary new D2

Dual-Diaphragm Dual-Voice-Coil

Compression Drivers mounted on a

third-generation waveguide and

patented RBI – Radiation Boundary

Integrator assembly. Patented rigging,

Crown VRack DSP and amplification, and

JBL HiQnet Performance Manager configuration and control software complete the system package.

VTX V20 features the advanced technology and extraordinary performance of the VTX V25 in a smaller format, high power density three-way

system complemented by a new suspension system that provides efficient transport, fast setup and precise configuration. All VTX V20

components have been specifically engineered to provide stable 110-degree horizontal coverage and effective line source array coupling in

the vertical plane while delivering linear, transparent sound up to surprisingly high output levels for its diminutive size.

End-user opinion:

“The JBL VTX25 and new ‘baby’ VTX20 have phenomenal audio power and have marked a major step forward with innovation and design.

Audio fidelity is exceptional with a much smoother, solid frequency response. The system has received very favourable comments from even the

harshest critics.

It appears on many local riders as well as international artists such as John Legend, Maroon 5, Metallica and others.” – Marius Marais, sound engineer (and company owner), Audio logic.

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renewed Vision ProVideoPlayer 2

Since its original release eight years ago, PVP has been used by organisations around the

world to create video walls, digital signage, dynamic staging and much more. This

experience and customer feedback drove the development plan for the next generation of

this powerful tool. The need for a robust, easy-to-use playback tool that excels in multi-

screen environments is something we have heard from many customers.

End-user opinion:

“PVP is a video play back program for Mac. The new PVP 2 has so many new improvements.

PVP is known for its versatility to play back a wide range of codecs but now with all the effect

generators built-in to PVP 2 and masking abilities, it has taken this product to a whole new

level. PVP 2 is a must-have if you are in live video playback. It is cost efficient and reliable.”

– Johan Botha, hoV of AV, Mgg.

SGM G.Spot Profile LED Moving Head

The G-Spot is a multi-environmental, maintenance-free fixture with an

IP-rating of 65.

End-user opinion:

“This product has several exceptional features that make it not only a

wish-list top 10 but a must-have item. The fact that it is maintenance-

free makes it enough of a win, in addition it has an IP rating of 65 so it is

water, dirt and sand proof, works in any weather conditions and

environment, and it’s the brightest 100% LED-based spotlight with all

the bells and whistles. It won the top industry Plasa Award for 2013 (for

good reason) and it adds on modular capabilities that make it

interchangeable between profile and spot which means your

inventory can be a lot smaller.” – Michael Collyer, Ceo, techrig technical solutions Agency.

shurePlus Channels app

ShurePlus Channels untethers you from the mixing console, delivering

time-saving convenience to roam the performance space while

monitoring key Shure wireless system parameters from an iOS device.

The app relays critical channel information including RF, audio, and

battery levels. Quickly switch between any of your wireless channels

using the sortable channels list.

Mobile control of wireless channel settings can be added via

in-app purchases. Unlocking this feature allows remote adjustment of

frequency assignments, audio gain, muting, and more.

End-user opinion:

“The app helps engineers to have remote control and monitoring of compatible Shure wireless systems to an iOS device. The app relays critical

channel information including RF, audio, and battery levels, and allows for remote adjustment of wireless channel and receiver settings. Our

sound engineers can use it on iPhone or iPad and increased efficiency of RF management.” – Marius Marais, sound engineer (and company owner , Audio logic.

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shure ulX-D digital wireless microphone system

The Shure ULX-D Digital Wireless offers extremely efficient RF

performance, networked control, Dante digital audio, and AES-256

encryption for professional sound reinforcement.

End-user opinion:

“The Shure ULXD is a brilliant digital wireless system. It is rugged, scalable

and reliable. The RF is exceptionally stable. Dante simplifies audio over IP

solutions and the Lithium Ion batteries and recharge stations have

drastically cut my battery budget! It’s a no-compromise solution for the

professional audio industry. Shure’S Wireless Workbench (their RF

Management software) ensures that the RF is always stable.”

– Marius Marais, sound engineer (and company owner), Audio logic.

soundcraft Vi3000

The Soundcraft Vi3000 features an all-new appearance with a more

efficiently designed control surface, 36 faders, 24 mono / stereo busses

and a sweeping black screen panel with four Vistonics II touchscreen

interfaces with sleek, updated 3D graphics. Because the Vi3000 has four

touchscreens, it’s the only console in its class that can be used by two

engineers at the same time.

End-user opinion:

“By far the best value for money digital console available (in its

category) since its launch this year. 3D Vistonics makes mixing so simple

and easy to follow. Vistonics can also allow more than one engineer to

mix on the desk simultaneously. It has FaderGlow, which is a unique and

elegant solution to help follow assignable faders. The seamless operation

with UAD plug-ins is brilliant! Vi3000 also has Lexicon Effects, built-in

Dante and MADI, which simplifies integration. Routing capability of the

desk is large (more than 200 ins and outs) making it quite versatile.” – Marius Marais, sound engineer (and company owner), Audio logic.

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‘Kg’ Moima dreams of introducing the entertainment industry to rural communities and feeding them with the wealth of possibilities within their communities…

‘KG’ Moima

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Kagiso ‘KG’ Moima is the owner and founder of full-service lighting

company Blackmotion Production that specialises in providing

entertainment lighting systems. With a vision and future as bright as his

enthusiastic personality, KG plans to bring skills, entertainment and

information to rural communities to expose them to the wide array of

career possibilities within the entertainment industry.

the beginning

While at school, KG was president of the Student Representative

Council (SRC) and he felt the school needed some spunk and

arranged quarterly folk shows with ‘singers’ miming on backing

tracks, using old large grand speakers as the PA. But, the career-type

interest in the entertainment industry sparked at the age of 17 when

KG and his cousin found themselves backstage of the entertainment

at a career expo they attended with their parents. “The stage was

huge and built out of scaffold pipes, and it had minimal lighting and

huge Electrovoice speakers that were about 1.2 metres wide, all

stacked on top of each other. I wasn’t sure how, but I knew that was

the moment I realised I wanted a career in the entertainment

industry,” he says.

He went on to graduate from the Tshwane University of Technology

in 2001 with a National Diploma in Performing Arts Technology, and

majored in Lighting, Sound and Stage Technology. Following that, KG

spent six weeks at Prosound doing his internship for the course and

when he realised that lighting is the direction he wanted to go in he

went to MJ Event Gear and courageously did a presentation to Mike

Jones to secure his first ‘real’ contract of employment. “You have to

know what you are doing before you walk into Mike’s office and ask

for a job. I was so nervous!”

Jones gave KG the opportunity he needed and he spent two years

working in sound and audio visuals and learning about the lighting

industry. In 2003 KG left MJ Event Gear having solidified a working

relationship and experience that would bear fruit for later years.

Personal development

“One day I received a call from Izak Furstenberg of Urban Brew

Studios and he wanted me to join them doing television lighting. I had

never done TV lighting before and because I wanted to diversify my

lighting skillset I gladly joined them. I wanted to learn all forms of

lighting design and TV lighting proved to be totally different to

concert and industrial lighting. The whole philosophy is different – you

need to light the set, create a mood, create a look and feel that the

SABC wanted, and light the actors. I learnt very quickly because I only

had four weeks with Izak before he left me to do the lighting on

my own.”

“One of my first sets was the Castle Loud entertainment show, and I

thought I did an awful job in lighting it. All I had done with Izak was the

Live Lotto Draw, which was simpler than Castle Loud. The set just had

darkness everywhere, but the producers assured me I was improving

with each show and that kept my confidence levels up during that

learning curve.”

Next was 3 Talk with Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu, a show for

which KG had sleepless nights trying to light in his head before even

seeing the set, but it was the compliments from this show that made

KG realise that he did in fact have talent and a career in the lighting

world, and this is where he ‘cut his teeth’ in TV lighting.

After gaining an extensive amount of lighting experience lighting

game shows and talk shows, KG needed to expand his knowledge

and skills in the TV lighting industry and went to work for Frans Marx

Films to light drama TV.

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Becoming an entrepreneur

In 2005, KG started his company, Blackmotion Production, and at the

time the industry was dominated by a mono cultural group which

seemed undemocratic and biased in creativity. KG believed he had

enough courage to participate in this heavily competitive industry by

offering sound business relationships with his clients based purely on

cost effective creative lighting services. So his business sprung to life,

operating mostly on weekends.

It took a while and it was when KG got a call from Moja Movie

Factory that he was able to take the plunge and turn his weekend

business into a full-time venture. Moja Movie Factory offered

Blackmotion Production a lighting contract for a sitcom it was about

to start producing and there was a real possibility of securing a

second season as well. Among the building blocks of getting

Blackmotion Production off the ground was MJ Event Gear and

Duncan Riley, owner of DWR Distribution, who set up an enterprise

development agreement to help him get the lights he needed to be

competitive in the market and have payback terms that suited KG.

“Duncan was my pillar in terms of building resources within my

company. If we had not spoken, then the enterprise development

wouldn’t have happened. Duncan was that spring board to get us

into the market.”

As an emerging company in a market full of experienced

competitors, Blackmotion Production had to focus on its skills,

knowledge, final presentation and its product offering, to position

itself in a way that made clients choose them for their credentials and

skills and not for their black ownership.

“We decided to dig deeper in the general market and find niche

markets where other companies were not looking. We have

managed to mould and develop that niche market as the country is

changing and progressing and laws are being made to help

companies, particularly black-owned companies, be considered for

jobs in previously unobtainable markets, where we were previously

unable to compete with because of

our lack of long term experience and

reputation in the market. So moulding

our niche market had more to do with

personality than anything – because

people do business with people they

like. So we had to be likeable. We had

to change how we speak and dress

and how we present ourselves and that

became the cornerstone of building a

niche market for ourselves.”

The company also keeps ahead of its

game by partnering and

subcontracting larger, more

experienced companies such as

Gearhouse and MJ Event Gear to take

on the jobs that are beyond

Blackmotion Production’s current

scope, and project manage them to

learn and gain skills. “The highlight of

my career was when I got a call to go

to Accra in Ghana, to light a Chris

Brown concert. This is when I realised we

can be a multi-national company and

offer our services to the rest of Africa

as well.”

KG’s vision is to bring what the

entertainment industry has to offer in terms of career possibilities, to

rural communities who rarely venture to cities and therefore do not

get the proper exposure to all the money-making, economy-

producing possibilities out there and help ignite thriving rural

economies so that urbanisation can be stopped in its tracks and

maybe reversed.

the next big thing for Kg

KG says the most important industry innovation in the last decade has

been the LED light. “LED is the way forward. They are energy-efficient,

durable, offer design flexibility which allows lighting innovators to

continue producing new innovative lights that offer different

characteristics for entertainment lighting.”

LED features prominently in Blackmotion Production’s lighting

offerings, and is sure to feature in the business’s next five year plan

which kicks off in 2016, when they plan on building their first

amusement park in Mpumalanga, in a township community that is

already performing well. “We want to bring the technology and

entertainment experiences to the communities while creating brands

that speak to people about lifestyles and self-empowerment, we

want to spawn dreams and new careers for youngsters to aim for.

People in townships don’t usually know the vast array of opportunities

that they could do in their townships to ignite the economies. The

future is bright. We just need to have the stamina to keep it going,” he

laughs. “I had to come to Johannesburg to get the skills and

knowledge I sought, and now I want to take them to the rural areas

and distribute information and opportunities.”

To conclude, KG urges companies of all sorts and sizes in all

industries to invest in their people and send them overseas to learn

from our international peers to keep South Africa relevant and

forward-thinking. If all companies did this then there would be a

constant cross-pollination of skills and development and all

companies and industries would benefit from it, even if people move

from company to company.

MYTHOSSUPERSHARPY

STORMY

something is changing...

It was hard work... but exciting!It went beyond our expectations.The Masters of Light are coming... Get ready for the Projectors:Supersharpy. A beam pushed to the Nth degree.Mythos. A spotlight which is already legend.Stormy. More than a strobe. A real tempest.

Future is now.

www.t

heprojectors.it

MYTHOS




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Robe BMFL – Choose your own acronym By Jimmy Den-Ouden

it’s probably safe to say robe is telling this one like it is. the BMFl is indeed a bright multi-function luminaire, and it’s very much all of those things.

BMFL uses a 1 700W discharge lamp which

Osram developed in conjunction with Robe

over the course of two years specifically for this

application. That’s a whole lot of Watts – the

most in fact I’ve ever seen in a moving head

fixture. It’s definitely a single-fixture-per-10A-

circuit kind of deal – just feel the heat which

emanates from the back of the head if you

want to better understand why.

Despite a busy schedule, we managed to

secure the BMFL for long enough to sit it down

and ask some questions. The first of these was:

“How bright are you?” The obvious answer was

to get a light meter and check the 220 000 lux

at 5m spec. I carefully measured the distance

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By Jimmy Den-Ouden

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lIVe eVentS rEViEW

and got the beam focused up, then stuck the meter into the light

field. It wasn’t able to tell me much other than more light was being

produced than it was capable of reading. So I’ll make do with my

own observations. It’s very bright – to the point I had some very real

concerns about burning holes in my cyc at 5m.

Obviously with such a bright source lamp life will be impacted – at

1 700W the lamp is rated to 500 hours. The lamp can be bumped

down to 1 500W or 1 200W output which extends its lifespan around

50% to 750 hours. Personally I found the difference from 1 700 to 1

500W pretty hard to pick – it’s still very bright. Changing output isn’t

possible via the fixture touch screen but instead done by DMX.

Colour happens in two forms on BMFL – a CMY mixing system allows

for extremely smooth and gradual shifts from open white through to

saturated colours. I tried a couple of 30-second colour fades and the

process is so subtle it’s virtually indiscernible. Dimming is equally

smooth and there are no changes to the beam during either process.

In addition to the CMY system, two colour wheels allow for saturated

colours and TV colours (minus-green, CTB, lavender and so on). The

wheels are indexed such that you can also do split-colour beams.

BMFL has an electronic motion stabilisation system which is kind of

hard to see in action. The idea is that it better deals with truss swing

caused by multiple heads simultaneously moving. It’s really hard to

observe this in our test environment with the fixture on a bench, but

what is obvious is how well its movement is controlled. Even on fast tilts

the fixture comes to a nice, precise stop. If knocked it homes to

the correct position with alarming accuracy – pretty important if

you’re using it over a throw distance of 80m or so (which is a pretty

realistic application).

Zoom range is five to 53 degrees and stupidly fast. The dual gobo

wheels are both rotatable and indexable – one wheel has breakup

effects and the other is more geared toward projected images. The

BMFL uses the same six-facet linear and four-facet circular prisms as

found on the MMX. There are three variable frost filters too.

Natively, BMFL has a fairly high colour temperature but can happily

put out anything between 2 700 and 6 000K.

I think the BMFL is something of a contradiction. It’s a hulking giant

light source in a compact body. The sheer brutish output means you

can jam all the beam effects you want in-line and still achieve really

solid output.

Perhaps most surprising is how refined the control and optics are – it

does everything you ask quickly and with a level of precision I simply

wasn’t expecting from such a BMFL.

Brand: Robe

Model: BMFL

RRP: R156 310 ex-Vat in dual case Price correct at time of print and subject to change.

Distributor: DWR Distribution

Product Info: www.robe.cz

Review syndicated from CX Magazine.

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EAW Anya – The new girl comes to town…By Jimmy Den-Ouden

Anya is a self-powered full-range array system from eAW. in some ways Anya is like traditional line array systems, but probably the key point of difference is that vertical coverage is controlled electronically rather than mechanically.

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EAW calls this ’Adaptive’ technology, and it can also be found in their

Otto subwoofer. For reasons soon to become obvious we didn’t

review Anya in-house but instead went up the road for the official

launch night.

Each Anya cabinet comprises 14 HF drivers (35mm voicecoil on 1”

exit), 6 MF drivers (38mm voicecoil on 5” cone), and 2 LF drivers (4”

voicecoil on 15” cone). Each driver is individually amplified and has

its own DSP channel with EAW Focusing. That’s a lot of brains and a lot

of horsepower.

There’s no specific nominal vertical beam width for each module

because it can be whatever you want it to be. Anya can steer sound

up or down in the vertical plane through a range of 180 degrees and

it does so from a vertical hang. How low down the frequency

spectrum you can effectively steer the sound depends on how many

modules you employ – just like any other line array it has to obey the

laws of physics.

Because the vertical pattern control is done electronically you

don’t need gaps in the line source to achieve the result, nor do you

need to make any physical changes to the array to modify the

coverage. It’s clever. You could theoretically use a single module,

but low end steering is more effective with more modules. More

modules also gives you higher SPL – see the Resolution 2 plots for

single, 3 and 6 modules illustrating vertical steering at 200Hz. Note

with the increase in modules not only where the sound is, but also

where it isn’t.

Operating range of each cabinet is 35Hz to 18kHz with a nominal

horizontal beam width of 70 degrees. The system is scalable in the

horizontal plane, so if you add additional columns then each hang

covers 60 degrees. Because the hangs are dead vertical and the

cabinets are angled at the sides, each hang can physically about

the entire length of the adjacent one. This is very exciting, since it

drastically reduces the comb filtering you’d encounter when joining

’J’ curved arrays. The result is more consistent audience coverage

and smaller interference zones.

All the rigging (bar the fly bracket) is integrated into the cabinets.

Push a pin on a box, and rigging tabs extend into the box beneath it.

Push a different pin on the lower box to lock into those tabs. It’s

simple, fast and there’s limited scope to get it wrong. Up to 18

cabinets can be flown in a single hang with a 10:1 safety factor. The

fly bracket can be suspended from one, two, three or four points to

accommodate available rigging facilities. The accompanying

system power/data distribution rack can be ground-stacked or

flown too.

The dolly on which the modules travel is rated to hold an entire

stack of 18 boxes in case ‘captain chain motor‘ isn’t paying too much

attention at de-rig (whether your stage can hold it is another matter).

Ordinarily you’d travel three or four modules per dolly depending on

whether you’re using a ramp or forklift to unload the truck.

When the system is first powered up, infra-red transceivers on every

abutting face to see if any neighboring boxes are present. This

information then automatically configures the Resolution 2 software

to display the array logically as it exists in the physical world. If too

much sunlight or whatever causes a problem with the IR, you can

configure the layout manually using internal winky lights on the front

of each boxes for identification. Audio inputs include Dante, AES, and

for the complete philistines, even analogue. Auto failover is

supported between primary and secondary Dante and future

firmware releases may see this feature further expanded upon.

Now the cool bit. You’ve got the system in the air, powered, and

you can see it all in the software. Now draw the area over which you

need coverage and hit the ’go‘ button. Resolution 2 calculates all

the necessary control parameters required to achieve this then once

you hit ’upload‘ it sends this configuration info to Anya. Anya then

steers the sound to exactly where you’ve asked it. It’s pretty subtle

eAW Anya cabinet

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lIVe eVentS rEViEW

about the whole matter too – the coverage just magically shifts with

no break in audio or weird noises. You can even modify the coverage

mid-show if you need to.

Reading about this is one thing, but actually experiencing it is

another thing entirely. The sensation of hearing the PA completely

re-steer itself to another part of the venue is almost eerie. There’s also

a ’find me‘ function, where you place reference mics at the

boundaries of your intended coverage area and leave Anya and

Resolution 2 to just figure it out.

Early in the day I was lucky enough to spend some time alone with

Anya at the Concert hall in the Concourse at Chatswood – a venue in

which I work quite regularly. I’m very used to how the room sounds

with the house PA, and I’ve heard it with a several other systems

toured in as well. There’s a certain predictable element of confusion

inherent to putting amplified sound into a reverberant space

designed for acoustic performances. Anya eliminated this by putting

the sound only where the audience sits and massively reducing the

reverberant field of the space. It’s seriously quite incredible.

Coverage is even where you want it, and just stops where it’s

supposed to.

It sounds good too. Straight off the bat with no system EQ in place,

frequency response is fairly neutral and doesn’t have the shelf type

attenuation apparent in the high frequency end of some systems.

The system I tested was six cabinets per side, so with 24 x 15” drivers in

the air (and another 24 x 21” sub drivers on the deck) I wasn’t game to

turn it up as loud as it would go. I don’t think I even really got past idle

on the amps, and I was pushing serious level. It’s definitely a serious

large format system and I’d suggest the companion Otto adaptive

sub will only add to the excitement.

Each Anya cabinet has an internal reference microphone, and this

can be used to compare what each box is doing with its stored

factory trace information. All this happens inside the box, and if it

detects a problem with a driver (impedance, response, whatever) this

is logged internally. When the system comes down after a show (or

before it goes out), checking each box is as simple as pushing the

’test‘ button on the back. A battery powered circuit lights up the

adjacent LED – green for all good or red meaning you need to power

up the box and check the logs for a problem.

If you lose a driver mid-show, Resolution 2 will report this and give

you the option to ’heal‘ any gap in the coverage caused by the loss.

Importantly the system won’t automatically change anything by itself

– any change to what it’s doing requires user input. Once the driver is

replaced, you can re-calibrate the module’s internally stored traces.

Internal sensors inside each Anya cabinet detect movement of the

array and will alert the user via Resolution 2 if it’s been tilted.

For all its brains, Anya won’t stop you doing fundamentally stupid

things. You still need to point it in the right direction, spec it the right

way, power it appropriately and control it correctly. Good

underpinning system knowledge is still important.

A sngle module at 200hz

3 Modules at 200hz

6 Modules at 200hz

Operating range of each cabinet is 35Hz to 18kHz with a nominal horizontal beam

width of 70 degrees. The system is scalable in the horizontal plane, so if you add

additional columns then each hang covers 60 degrees.

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rEViEW lIVe eVentS

tiD

All in all Anya is quite exceptional. It’s a sound system that does

exactly what you ask it to. If you’re a great engineer you’ll love it. If

you’re a lousy engineer then you’d better prepare some good

excuses now, because Anya won’t leave you anywhere to hide.

All of this comes at a premium – at 130kg each, the modules are

definitely not lightweight. Any large format line array (Anya sits in the

top end price bracket) is a big investment, so value for money counts.

Anya gives more of the punters the same sound experience as the

mix engineer and I reckon there’s a lot of value in that.

Brand: EAW

Model: Anya

RRP: The system sold as a complete G24 compliment

(ie. 24 x boxes plus accessories) is approximately

R14 million excl VAT.

Price correct at time of print and subject to change.

Distributor: Surgesound

Product Info: www.eaw.com

Review syndicated from CX Magazine.

the MF / hF section of the Anya rigging is integrated into each element

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Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2015 show sees huge exhibitor increase

Prolight + Sound Guangzhou continues to receive strong support from

the pro audio and lighting industry with its 2015 show expanding by 18

percent to 130 000 sqm of exhibition space. The expanded show will

now occupy 12 halls at Area A and B of the China Import and Export

Fair Complex.

The show, which will take place from 5 to 8 April 2015 during the

industry’s prime sourcing season, has attracted almost 1 300

exhibitors, making it by far, China’s largest industry fair.

Commenting on the tremendous growth, Ms Fiona Chiew, deputy

general manager for Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai), says: “Already more

than 90% of our 2014 exhibitors have signed up for the show. The

overwhelming response is largely due to their successful experience

last year. They believe that Prolight + Sound Guangzhou is the best

platform for launching their products to the Chinese market,

especially as we are expecting 70 000 Chinese and international

visitors to attend the show.”

huge demand for high-end audio products in China

In 2014 three Audio Brand Name Halls were launched and for the 2015

show, the number will increase to four with the new hall 13.2 in Area B.

the up-coming Prolight + sound guangzhou 2015 has grown by 18% due to strong exhibitor support and the expanded Audio Brand name halls is in response to the huge demand for high-end audio products in China.

This will allow leading international and local brands to raise their

brand image at this premium business platform.

Exhibiting in this new hall are returning brands: Ableton, Active-

audio, Adamson, APEX, Avid, AUDAC, AVMEDIA, beyerdynamic,

CARLSBRO, Clair Bros, Crown, db Technologies, dbx, DPA, ENEWAVE,

FBT, Funktion-One, Hayaco, HARVEY, KV2, JBL, KRK, Lexicon, Mach,

Master Audio, NEXT-proaudio, Proel, RAM audio, Seeburg Acoustic

Line, Sennheiser, Shure, Sonifex, Soundcraft, Soundking, Studer,

Studiomaster, Twaudio, Ultmate and Yamaha.

Brands joining for the first time include APG, Architectural

Acoustics, Audio Zenit, Beyma, Cicognani, Countryman, Crest Audio,

DAS, d&b audiotechnik, elite Core, Kempton, MediaMatrix, MIDAS,

Neumann, Peavey, Phonic, PKN, PL-audio, QSC, Qube, timax

and Xilica.

Renowned German brand beyerdynamic from hall 5.1 is optimistic

about the opportunities in China’s cultural market and is hoping to

further access this sector by joining the show. Jason Zeng, sales

director for the company, says: “beyerdynamic is a top audio brand

with 90 years history and we have been supporting the Prolight +

Sound shows for a long time because of their industry influence.

Having good responses from the last edition, we decided to

showcase our full product range in the 2015 show including TG wired

and wireless microphones, professional surveillance headphones

and headsets, Quinta wireless conference system and Orbis wired

conference system. We will also organise new product

demonstrations so visitors can know more about these.”

Another returning exhibitor AV Media, located at hall 4.1 and hall

13.2, will showcase KV2 Audio, Peavey, Mediamatrix and AVMedia

with lines for entertainment, performance and conference use.

Commenting on the recent development of entertainment and

performance industry in China, the representative from marketing

department said: “The market has certainly a higher requirement for

audio products. They have to be professional, comprehensive and

user-friendly. We believe that the wide variety of our product lines

plus our professional service can serve market needs. Joining the

Audio Brand Name Halls gives us good exposure to the Chinese

market and the business potential of Southern China.”

Spanish brand Beyma from hall 13.2, a first time exhibitor of the

show, plans to take advantage of the show’s leading industry position

to raise their business profile in Asia. Ms Lily Xiao, general manager for

Beyma China explains: “Chinese audio system manufacturers are

becoming more advanced in audio product technology, leading to

an increased demand for this technology to be used in European-

made speakers and compression drivers. A show like Prolight + Sound

Guangzhou is a great opportunity for us to let our customers in Asia,

especially in China, learn more about our latest products, including

our new 10, 12 and 15-inch compression drivers and coaxial, which

we will launch at the show.”

In addition, to help buyers navigate the larger show area,

exhibitors will be grouped by products in different halls. This applies to

the Audio Brand Name Halls, Pro Audio Hall, Lighting Hall, Enping

Microphone Halls and KTV halls. The Enping Microphone Hall will be

relocated from Area A to Area B, Hall 12.2. As this hall was fully

booked shortly after opening for booth applications.

Prolight + Sound Guangzhou is organised by Messe Frankfurt and

the Guangdong International Science and Technology Exhibition

Company (STE). For more information about the show visit: www.

prolightsound-guangzhou.com or email: plsgz@hongkong.

messefrankfurt.com.

For more about other Prolight + Sound fairs listed below visit:

www.prolight-sound.com.

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Mieliepop Festival

If you’ve ever been to other festivals out in the South African

wilderness, such as Oppikoppi, you’ll know that they’re not for sissies.

The conditions are often hot, harsh and dusty and this can take its toll.

However, Mieliepop is quite different and that’s what makes it

special. You camp out on manicured lawns, there is no dust, the

weather is idyllic, natural rock formations and waterfalls abound and

a river divides the festival in two upon which festival goers can enjoy a

barge cruise, fishing and swimming, if they so desire. There is also a

heated swimming pool, opportunities for hiking and the main bar is

located in a hollowed out rocky grotto. All of this, plus enjoying what

the festival is all about – good local music – makes its allure

undeniable and the experience supremely pleasant.

Another great thing about Mieliepop is its size. You’re not overrun

by swarms of people and that claustrophobic feeling of restrictive

movement. There are wide open spaces and everyone seems

happier than usual. There is plenty to eat and drink and ablution and

shower facilities abound so you get around that dirty feeling as well.

In the main entertainment area there are two areas of music

appreciation: the main stage and the dance floor, which is also

located in a hollowed out rock grotto next to a natural waterfall. The

audience area in front of the main stage is soft and grassy and you’re

never wanting for space. The overwhelming sense is of simplicity,

which is refreshing.

J-Sound Productions, headed by Jan Haarhof, was the sole

company involved with supplying the technical requirements for the

festival. Haarhof and J-Sound have had a long relationship with

Mieliepop going back to the beginnings with their relationship with

Mieliepop festival director Coenraad Nel.

“Since the first show I worked on with Coenraad we dreamed of

running our own festival. As good friends we attended almost every

festival in the country and a few overseas. We had this dream venue

in the Cape at one stage that we wanted to develop with an old

colleague of ours, Willem Visser. In fact, many of the readers will

remember the legend. But those dreams came to an end with him

passing in a bad motorcycle accident. We wanted something

different though – slightly off beat from the regular camp in the dust

fest with a little more glitter for the more matured festival goer and

always great on the musical side of things. Only a few years later we

discovered the venue that would host Mieliepop as it is today. With

Uriah Heep and Men Without Hats entertaining the crowds in previous

years the future is looking exciting for this new wave fest!”

the main stage

Since the dance floor was a simple system comprising a couple of

powered speakers with a DJ setup, the main stage was the central

point of attraction at the festival and is worthy of explanation.

The stage structure was constructed out of 24 Prolyte 2m x 1m stage

decks on 900mm legs, a 3m x 2m drum riser and a Trustt 135 degree

custom roof system measuring 8m (w) x 64m (d) x 5m (h).

“The stage structure we used is such an easy system to work with

and expandable beyond our wildest imaginations,” remarks Haarhof.

The audio system for the main stage is entirely JBL and centres on a

SRX700 system. In total, there were eight SRX725 dual-15-inch point

source enclosures configured as four per side and eight SRX728

dual-18-inch subwoofers, also stacked four per side, all powered by

Crown I-Tech 6000 and 4000 amplifiers. The console of choice was a

Soundcraft Si-series digital consoles that handled FOH and on-stage

monitoring, which comprise JBL EON XTs.

nestled in the highlands of eastern Mpumalanga near lothair and about 50km from the border of swaziland, one of south Africa’s most quaint and special festivals takes place: Mieliepop.

the setting of the Mielipop Festival in Mpumalanga

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LIVE EVENTs REPORT

“Although not a line array this old school point source array is one

of my favourite all round systems and is a workhorse like no other. It’s

clear, well balanced and if setup is done correctly it delivers enough

punch for a small to medium crowd,” says Haarhof.

Lighting on the main stage comprised a mix of various lights from

various manufacturers. As Haarhof puts it, there was an

“exciting mix” of:

• Chauvet LED 350 beams

• Chavet Core 3x1

• Chauvet Beambars

• Martin MAC401s

• Versalite LED par cans

• 1080x768 8mm LED panels

• Stagg Headbangers

The lighting rig was controlled with Show X-press, Lightjockey and

Resolume while Geyser smoke machines handled hazing.

“As we are very short on power we really rely on the led fixtures for

effects and visibility,” explains Haarhof. “Every year I’m surprised by

the brightness versus power consumption!”

With any festival, especially new festivals that are trying to make a

name for themselves and navigate through the trials that come with

the territory, there are always challenges.

Haarhof outlines a few of these: “From a technical perspective it

was mostly to squeeze everything into a limited budget with little

sponsorship and with little finance. For a young festival the sponsors

are only noticing the niche festival that it is now and are starting to

bite for next years’ fest. We (JSP) have been running the technical

side for the past four years with the help of a few friends we’ve always

made it work in sometimes difficult circumstances. But we believe in

this fest and we have passion for what we do.

“On the logistical end: toilet paper and showers! It is quite a

challenge to setup infrastructure in a place that is only starting to

develop as a festival grounds and to cater for more people than you

bargain for. It’s like a snow ball effect – with more people you need

more water, more pumps, more electricity, more cleaners, etc. I think

we’ve got the hang of it now and it will only get better in the coming

years with more permanent infrastructure going up!”

The wrap

After experiencing Mieliepop for myself this year I kicked myself for

turning down the opportunity to go in 2013. When you pull over that

ridge after a three-hour drive and peer down into the grassy valley

your first impression that it is paradise and you feel you’re in for a

treat. The small crowds (for now) and their happy vibe are

infectious and when it was finally time to go, it wasn’t easy.

Regardless of the fact that Haarhof admits that the main stage

doesn’t have a line array is of little significance. The music and the

people are enough. The JBL SRX700 system did more than enough

to keep the good times rolling and in combination with the

surrounds, will keep people coming back.

“This is a fest to keep your eye on,” concludes Haarhof. “In four

years it achieved what other festivals do in eight and it will continue

to grow in all kinds of ‘differentness’ and explorations of tastes and

sounds. The music experience is so vast that it serves a wide

spectrum of music lovers. And it all happens in a very pleasurable

venue to take it all in.”

Agreed.

The Main Stage

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lIVe eVentS adVErtoriaL

GETshow2015

The Exhibition of Guangzhou (International) Entertainment

Technology Show (GETshow)) will be held in Pazhou Poly World Trade

Expo Center (PWTC) from 1 to 4 April 2015. The exhibition area will

extend some 78 000 square metres and more than 550 exhibitors are

expected to attend the show, which is an increase of about 30%

compared with last year’s exhibitor figures. The show will be attended

by over 30 000 professional audiences from home and abroad.

Key highlights of GETshow 2015 include a high-end silent show in the

first International Brands Audio Hall and a holding exhibition in the

Factory-Industrial base.

During the 2015 GETshow, it will carry forward the spirit of creating

the show by holding the first high-end silent exhibition in China.

GETshow will set up six halls (including three professional audio halls

and three professional light halls) and one outdoor line array stage.

There will also be an independent international brand audio hall for

the first time. There are a few large domestic and overseas brand

manufacturers and agents invited to join the show. They include

famous brands, such as ACE (JBL, Crown, Shure, Soundcraft), Meyer

Sound, Yamaha, Ruisheng (German TW Audio, German SAL-

acoustics line, German GLP Computer Lights, Australia LSC), Verity

Audio, Pioneer, AV Media (Peavey Electronics), America QSC, Acton

(Spain DAS, German KS Audio, Sound Works and Supplies (German

D&B), Win-sound (Midas, Klarkteknik, Turbosound), Martin Audio,

Racpro (L’acoustic, Sennheiser, Digico), PAL Audio (C-Mark), Real

Music (Canada Adamson), Portugal Norton, Belgium APEX, France

Active Audio and Digital Media Technology (Clair Brothers, DPA,

DB Technologies).

In addition, there will be many famous enterprises that will attend

the show at the professional light hall, such as PR Lighting, Fine Art,

Top-led Lighting, Deliya, DS Lighting, Goldensea Professional Lighting,

Hongcai Lighting (Jolly), Huihong Lighting, Liangyi Lighting, Rentian

Lighting, Omarte Lighting, ACME Group, Yajiang Applied Technology,

Max Lighting, GTD, W-DMX, Nanshi Lighting, Nanyi Lighting, Chuangyi

lighting, Light Sky, Yellow River Lighting, East River Lighting, RGB, FDL,

Globaltruss, Ledika Lighting, Ruiying Lighting, Weifa Truss, Huawei and

Tinhao Maquinas. They will each offer a stunning visual feast

for audiences.

GETshow in 2015 will simultaneously hold an industrial summit,

several professional technology lectures, an outdoor line array tour

of the show, an enterprise products launch and live interactive

activities, among others.

Compared with the previous shows, there will be more packed

programmes, richer activities and additional highlights compared

with previous years. For example, the GETshow Committee will

cooperate with the professional media to plan a visiting activity for

them called ’Enter into the factory’. Visiting media will visit the

production base, which will help the exhibitors promote their

products. The committee is creating this activity to become one of

GETshow’s characteristic projects going forward.

enhance service to create a brand new event

The show also aims to improve service to exhibitors and attendees

by providing 2015 show exhibitors additional after-show service.

They aim to absorb the service experience of domestic and large

overseas exhibitions, follow science and technology development

trends and put up an intelligent exhibition system.

Therefore with the help of the internet, the show will give

exposure of the exhibition products by displaying them on its

website for the whole year, which is one of the additional value

services provided for all 2015 GETshow exhibitors.

Show sponsors will also hold the opening ceremony and

banquet of the show which will be held in the Chime Long Hotel in

Guangzhou, the largest city in the Guangdong province in South

China. Industry friends and customers will be able to meet

and network.

During the GETshow of 2015, an industrial information exchange

platform for the participating enterprises, purchasing agents and

exhibition visitors will be available to consolidate the business

cooperation relationships and provide the entertainment

equipment industry (home and abroad) with various brand new

development ideas and business opportunities.

the opening ceremony of getshow 2014

A preview of the exhibition of guangzhou (international) entertainment technology show

15 – 17 July 2015THE DOME @ NORTHGATEJOHANNESBuRG SOuTH AFRICA10AM – 6PM I WEDNESDAy TO FRIDAy

VISIT WWW.MEDIATECH.CO.ZA FOR MORE INFO

Proudly brought to you by Thebe Reed Exhibitions and Sun Circle Publishers

Publishers & Projects

Technical Sponsor

64

StudIo Pro AudIo produCt round-up

Presonus FaderPort

The cheapest of the lot and

despite getting a bit long in

the tooth it’s one of the most

successful as well. The

PreSonus Faderport offers

simple single channel control

and works with most major

DAWs on both Mac and PC. It

features a single 100mm fader

that can be used to write

single and group channel

automation. Additionally it

provides complete transport

control, pan control, mute,

solo, record enable buttons,

window view control and

automation modes. A

footswitch can be used for

hands-free punch in/out.

DAW Controller round-up

After years now on the digital front engineers are still searching for the ultimate in intuitive DAW (digital audio workstation) control.

While filled with cumbersome gear and a requiring more than a small fortune to build, analog studios of eras past still had the advantage of a lot of control available at your fingertips – especially if you had an automation system – and had added allure on the eyes.

indeed, many records we love and regard as some of the finest ever produced were made in these now costly-to-maintain relics and, as a result, engineers today are grappling to infuse the way things were done in those environments while implementing the compact workflow advantages of digital.

one of the most effective tools engineers had on the large format analog console was the fader. it’s hugely

important to have complete control over your levels and the fader gave us that. in fact, one could argue it is the essence of what mixing is about. Balance is everything.

in the digital domain the mouse becomes tedious and anyone that’s ever written automation with it will understand. For some reason it just ‘feels’ better to touch a fader, close your eyes and ride levels. the answer? A DAW control surface.

While not entirely new news, at this point in time controllers abound; some affordable and modest and some expensive, large and complex. Pro-Systems takes a look at a few from the current crop on offer.

PRODUCT ROUND-UP Studio Pro Audio

Icon Qcon Pro USB Midi Controller Station

The Icon Qcon Pro USB is an

eight-fader controller

expands on the basic

functionality of the

single-fader QCon Lite; a

more extensive alternative

to the FaderPort. It features

eight dual-function rotary

encoders, a large backlit

LCD display, 18 assignable

buttons, illuminated record

enable, solo, mute, select

and monitor buttons for

each channel, full transport

control including jog wheel,

four-direction zoom buttons,

nine illuminated assignable

MIDI function buttons, an

expansion slot for Icon’s

Umix-series USB audio

interfaces and two

footswitch jacks. It can be

expanded by adding Icon

EX Expander eight-channel

fader wing.

Softube Console 1

The Console 1 is a more

recently released controller

from respected plugin

developer Softube in

response, I assume, to have

intuitive control over more

than just fader levels and

offer a complete channel

strip control solution in any

DAW. Console 1 has a bit of a

caveat, however: it is a

software and hardware

mixing platform. Included

with the Console 1 is Softube’s

emulation bundle of Solid

State Logic’s SL400E console

and Softube’s Transient

Shaper and the way that it

works is that once you have

inserted the Console 1 plugin

into your chosen DAW

channels, control of the

channel strip can be handled

from the surface by selecting

the relevant channel.

Changes made on the

surface then reflect in the GUI of the Console 1 plugin where all forms of automation can be

written. Each channel can also be separately customised by adding in any Softube equaliser

and compressor and functions can be grouped for simultaneous control.

65

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StudIo Pro AudIo produCt round-up

Mackie Control universal (MCu) Pro

A mainstay in DAW control for a while

now and still going strong, the Mackie

Control Universal Pro has proved its value

time and time again for many studio

owners the world over. Using the Mackie,

HUI and Logic Control protocols over USB,

it is compatible with almost every DAW;

offering eight 100mm touch-sensitive

motorised Alps faders and V-Pot control

over software, plugins and virtual

instruments. It has more than 50

dedicated buttons for engaging

software parameters and features a full

transport section including jog wheel.

Full meter display is available along with

track names and parameters while zoom

and cursor buttons (up, down, left, right)

aid navigation. Perhaps a little different

than the others, the MCU also includes a

USB MIDI interface for connecting

external MIDI gear directly to your Mac

or PC. Software-specific Lexan overlays

are included and the surface is

expandable by adding the optional

Control Extender Pro and C4 modules.

Midi Music studio

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produCt round-up StudIo Pro AudIo

ssl nucleus

Based on the SSL Matrix, the SSL

Nucleus is Solid State Logic’s project

studio offering that blends advanced

DAW control, SuperAnalogue

monitoring, two SuperAnalogue

microphone preamps, a USB audio

interface and bundled SSL Duende

plugins. Like the rest of the controllers

in this roundup, it is compatible with all

major DAWs and connects via

Ethernet to the host (Mackie and HUI

protocols) while the 2 x 2 audio

interface connects via USB for record

and playback facilities to and from

your DAW. The Nucleus features 16

touch-sensitive motorised faders in two banks of eight, digital scribble

strips with assignable V-Pots and soft keys, user-customisable DAW &

key command mapping, configuration through the remote Logictivity

browser, an SD card slot for project storage, full transport and jog

wheel, illuminated buttons, LEDs and DAW metering, a full monitoring

section, two headphone outputs and an iJack monitor input. Finally,

it also features a four-port USB hub.

Conclusion

There are many more controller options out there, such as the Slate

Raven MTX and MTi (which Pro Systems has covered), the Avid Artist

series controllers, the Behringer BC series and the Steinberg CC and

CMC controllers (which only work with Cubase). There are more

still. However, one thing’s for sure: there is no better time to bring

your fingers back into the mix and many companies are offering a

host of features at every price range. Happy mixing.

Avid s3

The newest control surface offering

from Avid inherited from their S3L live

mixing system and borrowing

workflow highlights from the flagship

Avid S6, the S3, while more expensive

than the others so far, provides

universal DAW control over the

EUCON protocol developed by sister

company Euphonix. The S3 is a

compact desktop control surface

and 4 x 6 audio interface that

integrates both the EUCON protocol

and local AVB (Audio Video

Bridging) I/O over one Ethernet

cable (AVB available for OS X Core

Audio only). It offers 16 channel

strips, each with its own touch-

sensitive 100mm motorised fader

and 10-segment signal level meter.

32 touch sensitive, push-button

rotary encoders (16-channel control, 16 assignable) provide gain control, plugin parameter adjustment and more while a tri-colour LED

function indicator is implemented into the encoders for instant visual feedback. There are 32 high-resolution OLED displays that display track

names and numbers, detailed metering data from mono to surround sound, parameter names and values, current automation mode and

more. Solo, mute, channel select and record/automation enable buttons are available while a four-segment touch strip allows transport

control. If you need a job wheel function, the S3 can be used alongside the Avid Artist Transport for extended control. Dozens of dedicated

buttons abound to control navigation, automation, control assignment and software control. The local I/O includes two XLR mic/line inputs,

two TRS line inputs, two XLR line outputs, two TRS line outputs and a stereo headphone output.

68

SoCIAl

themba Malaza, sin Dislie Zulu, Zweli Mndebele and Dumisani hadebe

hanif seedat and Vernon Meyers

greg Payne, Alison taman and Paul newman

Arthur nieman

Botsotso Maphosa and nkani shabalala

nathan van Zyl, greg Buitendag and Matthew gray

Wynand Delport and Andre stoltz

Michael van rensburg stephan grawe

Charl Marais, Michael Kennidy and Andy Davies

Bernie nagel

Comfort Mokgethi, sfiso Petri Mahlangu and Parata Faustinus

Jade inder and ryan Beck Makabongwe ngceba and sabashnie govender

Alison taman

Zak Mangera and John Peche

nomusa and Plona

Djalita von Mollendorf Justin Mamulis

gene novacek hein Zentgraf

Karen Kruger and Peter taljard treasure Vilakazi and nelson tabane

Martin Audio MLA Demo – Summit College, Kyalami

TID Roadtrip – The Focus Rooms, Sunninghill

Enco Workshop – Wild and Marr Offices, Isando

Meet.Inc Launch – Kathea Offices, Rivonia

IntroducesFT Series

FT15Multi-purpose full range

RMS Power: 400WImpedance: 8 ohmsAverage Sensitivity (1W/1m): 98dBMaximum SPL: 124 dB RMS / 130dB PeakFrequency Response (-6dB): 47~18000HzConnectors: Two NEUTRIK Speakon NL4MP Cabinet Size (H x W x D) mm: 445 x 710 x 414Weight: 25kg net / 28kg gross Cabinet Material: Birch Plywood Cabinet Finish: UltraTex (USA) Texture coating Low VOC waterborne paint

FT152Multi-purpose full range

RMS Power: 800WImpedance: 4 ohmsAverage Sensitivity (1W/1m): 100dBMaximum SPL: 128 dB RMS / 134dB PeakFrequency Response (-6dB): 45~20000HzConnectors: Two NEUTRIK Speakon NL4MP Cabinet Size (H x W x D) mm: 445 x 1126 x 473Weight: 46kg net / 50kg gross Cabinet Material: Birch Plywood Cabinet Finish: UltraTex (USA) Texture coating Low VOC waterborne paint

FT18SSubwoofer

RMS Power: 1000WImpedance: 8 ohmsAverage Sensitivity (1W/1m): 97dBMaximum SPL: 127 dB RMS / 133dB PeakFrequency Response (-6dB): 38~18000HzConnectors: Two NEUTRIK Speakon NL4MP Cabinet Size (H x W x D) mm: 605 x 580 x 690Weight: 42kg net / 46kg gross Cabinet Material: Heavily brassed Birch Plywood Cabinet Finish: UltraTex (USA) Texture coating Low VOC waterborne paint

FT218SSubwoofer

RMS Power: 2000WImpedance: 4 ohmsAverage Sensitivity (1W/1m): 100dBMaximum SPL: 133dB RMS / 139dB PeakFrequency Response (-6dB): 38~18000HzConnectors: Two NEUTRIK Speakon NL4MP Cabinet Size (H x W x D) mm: 1140 x 580 x 690Weight: 72kg net / 77kg gross Cabinet Material: Heavily brassed Birch Plywood Cabinet Finish: UltraTex (USA) Texture coating Low VOC waterborne paint

viva afrikaViva Afrika Sound and Light (Pty) Ltd

Unit 2, 2 Drakensburg RoadLongmeadow Business Estate West, West� eld

PO Box 4709, Rivonia, 2128, South AfricaTel: 011 250-3280, Fax: 011 608-4109

[email protected], www.hybrid.co.za

BRAND

NEW

DWR – Robe

BRIGHT M F LIGHT!

w w w . r o b e . c z

THE GAME HAS CHANGED!ARM YOURSELF

EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR FOR SOUTH AFRICA:DWR DISTRIBUTION Block C, Unit 1, Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laserpark, Honeydew, 2170, JohannesburgIt’s all about the people Tel: +27 11 794 5023 | Fax: + 27 11 794 5702 | [email protected] | www.dwrdistribution.co.za

Pro-Systems Jan/ Feb 2015

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Transcript of Pro-Systems Jan/ Feb 2015