Photos Archives - Commercial Integrator https://www.commercialintegrator.com The business book for technology professionals. Fri, 08 Dec 2023 22:07:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/cropped-favicon-84x84.png Photos Archives - Commercial Integrator https://www.commercialintegrator.com 32 32 16 of the Best Church Speakers to Serve the Houses of Worship Market https://www.commercialintegrator.com/av/audio/loudspeakers_subwoofers/16-best-church-speakers-houses-worship/ https://www.commercialintegrator.com/av/audio/loudspeakers_subwoofers/16-best-church-speakers-houses-worship/#comments Wed, 19 Apr 2023 15:27:00 +0000 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/?p=72699 Sound quality is more important to church speaker systems. Here are 16 of the best church speakers for the diversifying Houses of Worship market.

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Editor’s Note: This post, focusing on the best church speakers to serve the house of worship market, originally appeared on Jan. 9, 2019. We updated it on April 19, 2023, to include additional information.

In many ways, churchgoers are luckier than ever before: they get to experience the best sound in houses of worship that’s ever been widely available.

In the wake of public demand for better audio in venues beyond cinemas, a growing number of audio and infrastructure manufacturers are developing audio products to envelop consumers in quality church sound.

The only trouble for integrators, then, is which sound systems for churches to choose for each project? Well, we’ve taken the liberty of rounding up some of the most popular loudspeakers for the ever-diversifying Houses of Worship market.

Digital Audio is the Backbone of the Best Church Speakers

Dante digital audio has a lot to do with the the current audio renaissance. Class D circuit designs and digital signal processing (DSP) configuration capabilities are close behind.

Over the course of a few years, Dante’s surge in popularity has made the format a go-to standard for plug-and-play digital audio connectivity — an especially useful trait in when deciding between speakers.

See the slideshow of church speakers that are excellent fits for the Houses of Worship market

Helping to ensure the format’s continued adoption, Audinate, the developer of Dante, has introduced its Dante Domain Manager and the Dante Broadway chip.

Dante can be found in everything from microphones and speakers to amplifiers and mixing consoles. As of 2016, over 159 companies (and counting!) have brought to market more than 950 Dante-enabled products.

Class D Amplifiers & DSPs Diversify the Loudspeaker Market

Class D amplifier designs are prevalent across the consumer and commercial audio markets due to the designs’ efficiency, small footprint and associated costs.

These factors allow manufacturers to develop everything from active speakers to subwoofers, for everything from home theater to sound reinforcement.

DSPs are available from just about every company that produces church speakers and amplifiers, and they enable users to tailor a variety of settings in the digital domain to provide unique, custom-tailored performance parameters to each installation.

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38 Line Array Speakers for Large Venues https://www.commercialintegrator.com/news/10_line_array_speakers_for_large_venues/ Wed, 19 Apr 2023 13:10:21 +0000 http://dev.commercialintegrator.com/10_line_array_speakers_for_large_venues/ Find the best line array speakers for professional live sound and audio markets, and learn about their unique features and benefits for enhanced audio experiences.

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Editor’s Note: This post, which focuses on line array and audio options, originally appeared on May 22, 2012. We updated it on December 8, 2023.

A considerable argument could be made that no product within the world of professional AV has more contact with end users than line arrays. A definite case could be made for displays that are used for videowalls and digital signage, but certainly in the audio market there is no product category that outranks the profile of line array products.

Live sound has come to be a major pillar of InfoComm’s showcase, and certainly has a tremendous presence at other trade shows. Recent InfoComm shows offered attendees around two-dozen audio demo suites; of which, 19 were occupied by major PA systems manufacturers, including L-Acoustics, Meyer Sound, Harman/JBL, Renkus-Heinz, Martin Audio, Bose Professional, K-Array and EAW.

Related: 6 Ways the Large Venue Integration Market Is Evolving

Live-sound and line array products at InfoComm 2017 also reflected the ongoing importance of existing trends, such as full-range music reproduction and speech intelligibility that are now considered de rigueur for sound in stadiums and arenas, as well as for houses of worship and retail and amusement venues.

Let’s look at this discussion another way: How many times has someone told you about a band they saw live but said the band didn’t sound great. Usually, they blame the venue or the sound system in the venue for these problems. Most people have heard those sentiments from family or friends, and that is the dilemma pro audio manufacturers face when confronted by public opinion. The irony is that venues aren’t really competing with each other. Instead, they’re competing with phones and comfortable homes, both of which provide a great interactive event-watching experience with plenty of home entertainment system options.

This roundup of line array speakers emphatically represents the market’s response to comments like those mentioned above, and for professional integrators and even front of house (FOH) engineers, these solutions represent the highest pinnacle of technology and engineering the audio industry is capable of producing.

Click here to view the slideshow of 38 line array speakers and don’t forget to check out CI’s complete guide to line array speakers.

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Go Inside a Doomsday Survival Luxury Condo https://www.commercialintegrator.com/ci/inside_a_doomsday_survival_luxury_condo/ Sun, 01 Jan 2023 13:00:24 +0000 http://local.commercialintegrator.com/inside_a_doomsday_survival_luxury_condo/ Commercial Integrator takes you inside doomsday survival luxury condo, complete with all the necessities… and more than a couple perks.

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Editor’s Note:  The article was originally published on Sept. 19, 2014 and since has been updated as of 2023. Below is Commercial Integrator’s first edition of Flashback Friday, returning to a doomsday survival luxury condo. In 2013, we took you inside this space, complete with all the necessities… and more than a couple perks. So, why not check it out all over again?

Water? Check.

Five-year supply of food? Check.

Home theater? Check.

When developers decided to convert an underground 1960s intercontinental ballistic missile site into a doomsday-ready condo community, they tried to think of everything.

The turnkey luxury condos may be located down to 175 feet below earth level at a remote North Central Kansas location, but they don’t lack amenities such as Subzero appliances and iPad-friendly Crestron automation, designed and installed by Logic Integration.

Doomsday Survival Community

In the event of a catastrophe, there’s no telling how long unit owners would have to live inside the self-contained doomsday survival community, figures developer Larry Hall. So, he includes a pool, a fitness center, 25,000 gallons of renewable water, green energy sources, waste treatment, a Logic Integration designed community theater and a slew of technology.

There is demand for luxury living in a secure, post-disaster environment, according to Hall, owner of one of the condos. The developer converted the silo into 15 floors with 10 residential units—a $10 million project, he says. Hall asks $2 million for four units that are approximately 1,800 square feet and $1 million for six 900-square-foot units.

For Logic Integration, a $4 million integration firm that does about 75 percent of its business with commercial clients and 25 percent in the residential market, it was about as unique a project as is imaginable.

The Lone Tree, Colo.-based integrator sent a team, led by senior project manager Tommy Nix, to the Kansas location. Once they lugged equipped down a 175-foot concrete bunker (yes, there’s an elevator), however, it was business as usual says VP of business development Bill Craig.

Each condo is fully integrated with a Crestron whole-house A/V system, secure wired and wireless network system, Samsung flat-panel TVs, Crestron lighting control and a Crestron intercom system.

One out-of-the-ordinary touch, Craig adds, is the use of LCD screens that function as underground windows. Condo owners get to choose what they’d like to view—beach, forest, for instance—when they gaze into their faux windows. Not only that, adds Nix, residents can use these virtual windows to see where they are in the above-ground world via live high-definition 1080p north, south, east and west camera feeds.

Beyond the in-unit solutions, Logic Integration also designed and installed much of the technology for the public spaces which include a library, interactive classroom, marketplace, bar, pool, arcade, control room and community home theater.

Approximately $1 Million Systems Integration

The major components of the approximately $1 million system integration for the doomsday survival luxury condo, according to Logic Integration, include:

  • Crestron Digital Media distribution
  • Crestron TSW-750 panels with intercom
  • Crestron iPad integration
  • Crestron Sonnex audio distribution
  • Crestron lighting control
  • Samsung LED displays
  • 17 Kaleidescape players with centralized distribution
  • Digital Projection 1080p LED projector
  • Stewart Filmscreen screens
  • 17 Cinematech theater seats
  • Planar security video wall
  • Full surveillance system

If you’re going to be stuck somewhere off the grid for an extended period of time, you could do worse than what Hall calls Luxury Survival Condos.

As for who—besides Hall—is investing in this type of doomsday security, there appears to be a market for it. At press time, the development site indicates that condos are sold out minus a pending sale falling through.

Two additional silo sites have been secured and Logic Integration is on board to provide technology integration for both—a unique niche for an integration firm, to say the least.

Inside a Truly Unique AV Project

Shawn Hansson, CEO and founder of Logic Integration, had no interest in pursuing the missile silo project initially. “When the client walked into our showroom, I was ready to walk away because the budget [he proposed] was only $70,000, and nobody had ever built a facility like this before,” he says.

“There were so many questions. Who was financing it? Now he has outside investors so that’s less of an issue.”

Craig, however, negotiated the budget up to about $1 million and demonstrated a strategy that made Hansson confident that his company could approach it the right way. “My attitude went from ‘I don’t think we should do it’ to ‘Let’s do it!’,” Hansson says.

For Nix, who essentially lived at a hotel 18 miles from the remote Kansas job site for four months, the project was worth the unconventional challenges. He calls it “the project I’d want to work on before I die” and “a dream job,” pointing out that no other integration project managers are likely to have tricking out an abandoned nuclear missile silo on their resume.

Doomsday Survival Involves Drama

The doomsday survival project, which is slated to wrap up in June 2013, included drama. Nix recalls being on the 14th floor, meaning 14 levels beneath the earth, when the power went out. “That’s when I realized I forgot my flashlight,” he says. Adding insult to injury, many of the security lights in the stairwell were out, “so I had to feel my way up the pitch dark stairs.”

Getting equipment in and out of the silo “wasn’t as hard as you’d think,” Nix says, adding that it was probably easier than some urban projects in which parking is limited. “We did have a loading dock and an elevator. The biggest thing you’d have to deal with is the mud. When it rains in Kansas the mud is like adhesive. It’s so bad that when you lose your shoe, you’re like, ‘Maybe I don’t need that shoe.’”

Security was an underestimated issue on the project. The North Central Kansas location is billed as “undisclosed,” but media coverage (see video below) included enough area footage for some people to pinpoint the job site. “There were numerous attempts by people trying to get in here and see what we’ve got, how deep it is,” Nix says. “There is a lot of interest from survivalists.”

As a result, the security and surveillance system became much more robust than originally planned. Nix opts not to describe details of the security solution, just that the surveillance system “is the most elaborate I’ve seen.” The installation involved him climbing atop a 60-foot communication tower to install at PTZ camera.

Emergency Communication System

One aspect of the security solution that was anticipated is the emergency communication system. Hall, the developer, wants silo occupants to be alerted to danger whether it’s outside the secure silo or inside. Logic Integration Crestron programmer Craig Brown made sure that pretty much every thing within the silo that has a video display—including iPads, Crestron touchpanels and common-area screens—features a notification system.

“It will show a 24/7 status which is green, yellow for caution or red for alert,” Nix says. “It also gives you the capability to press an alert button to get a code and create your own [mass notification visual and audio] alert. So, if a tenant fell and broke their leg or they have a situation where they need help in any way, they can hit that alert and change the status for the entire property.”

The unique obstacles of the doomsday survival project involved with integrating audio, video and automation solutions in a 175-foot-deep secure silo, Nix says, provide him with prospective that will help him with future projects.

“It’s like a relationship. There’s good, there’s bad, and at the end you’re glad you hung onto it and glad you are a part of it. I’ve learned so much on this job in terms of limitations of the equipment, dealing with the daily drama of what the next step brings.”

Tour the missile silo turned condo community with developer Larry Hall:

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Send In the Best #AVFail Images From Your Photo Gallery! https://www.commercialintegrator.com/news/send-in-the-best-avfail-images-from-your-photo-gallery/ https://www.commercialintegrator.com/news/send-in-the-best-avfail-images-from-your-photo-gallery/#respond Thu, 17 Nov 2022 21:24:09 +0000 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/?p=115412 In the spirit of fun and levity, Commercial Integrator wants to see the best #AVFail images in your Photos app. Send 'em our way!

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Commercial Integrator spends a lot of time doing the serious work of helping integrators run their businesses better. However, as the holiday season approaches, our editorial team wants to have a little fun. If you ever socialize as part of the #avtweeps community, you know that we enjoy chuckling over a good #AVFail. You know what we’re talking about, right? Think of all those images saved in your Photos app….

  • when a rack’s cables look like a tangle of spaghetti
  • when everything’s out of alignment and you’re begging for a leveler
  • when you notice that a projection screen is hanging just beneath bright lights

Don’t worry…we’re not looking to “name names” — on the client side, the integrator side or any other way. Instead, CI just wants to give folks something to chuckle about over holiday dinner or on the way to the jobsite.

CI’s editor-in-chief, Dan Ferrisi, put out a call on Twitter, asking for your best #AVFail images. Of course, you can feel free to post the best you’ve got right in that thread. If you’d rather email them, send your JPGs or PNGs to dan.ferrisi@emeraldx.com. If you have any context for what space you’re showing (e.g., a university in the Midwest, a corporate boardroom in the northeast, a museum in California), please label the photo accordingly.

The CI editorial team will gather up the best submissions and create a photo slideshow before the end of the year. Check our homepage regularly to be the first to see this special presentation drop!

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DAS Loudspeakers Deliver Impactful Sound at the Penthouse Club in Tampa https://www.commercialintegrator.com/markets/entertainment/das-loudspeakers-penthouse-club-tampa/ https://www.commercialintegrator.com/markets/entertainment/das-loudspeakers-penthouse-club-tampa/#respond Mon, 07 Jun 2021 18:26:16 +0000 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/?p=100067 Wide dispersion and superb clarity result in the right sound without excessive level at Penthouse Club in Tampa.

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The Penthouse Club – Tampa is a combination gentlemen’s club and world-class steakhouse that caters to upper echelon clients with two full bars and is staffed with Tampa’s “most beautiful entertainers.”

As part of an extensive facility renovation that includes lighting and video, a new sound system was recently deployed.

To ensure the most impactful sound possible, the decision was made to use loudspeakers drawn from the Quantum, E11even Sound, and Artec series catalogs of Valencia, Spain-based DAS Audio.

idesign Productions, a full-service lighting, video and audio design / build firm headquartered in Miami that services upscale establishments such as nightclubs, lounges, hotels, resorts, and restaurants, was contracted to handle the renovation at The Penthouse Club.

Michael Meacham, idesign’s owner and lead lighting and video designer, coordinated with DAS Audio Sales Manager for Nightclubs and Hospitality John Fiorito for the design and implementation of the Penthouse Club’s new sound system.

Related: Sandman Comedy Club Takes Its Sound System Performance Seriously

“This was a complete renovation for interior finishes, lighting, video, and audio,” said Meacham reports. Both John Fiorito from DAS and myself worked closely with Chuck Rollins and Eddie Suqi from Penthouse to upgrade the Penthouse Tampa location.

“There are six spaces throughout the venue that received new audio equipment, so this was big project that involved a lot of equipment,” he said.

In the Main Pit, the idesign team placed 8 E11even Sound ES-10 2-way point source loudspeakers, 2 ES-S218 bass reflex enclosures, plus 4 Quantum Q-10 passive subwoofers. These enclosures are driven by E11even Sound EP-8K4 and EP-10K4 power amplifiers.

In the Upper Lounge area, 4 DAS ES26 enclosures and 2 DAS Quantum Series Q-10 passive subwoofers were deployed, with amplification provided by an E11even Sound EP-8K4 power amp. The idesign team specified and installed 28 DAS CL6TB ceiling speakers throughout the club that are driven by Crown XLS1502 amplifiers.

Penthouse Club

Inside the Penthouse Club

DAS Audio Quantum Series Q-23-T 1-way full range loudspeakers and Quantum Series Q-10 passive subwoofers were deployed extensively throughout the club’s Large Whale room, Long Narrow Whale room, and the Far Whale room—with amplification handled by Crown XLS1502 amplifiers.

In the Penthouse Club’s dining area, 4 DAS Artec-306 2-way passive point source loudspeakers, a pair of Quantum Series Q-10 passive subwoofers, and an E11even Sound EP-8K4 power amp complete the picture.

System control throughout the venue is provided by a BSS BLU-100 Signal Processor with BLU link and a BLU-BOB2 Output Expander. The interface for control of the system is accomplished via the HiQnet app for the Apple iPad.

“All loudspeakers are placed in the optimum positions to ensure you can feel the music, thus creating a great vibe while still be able to carry a conversation at any table or banquet seating area,” said Meacham.

The Penthouse Club – Tampa project was installed in November of 2020 and, since that time, has been very well received.

“Club management is very pleased with the installation,” Meacham said. “Both from an aesthetic perspective and the sound quality of the system, the new equipment setup has more than met expectations.

“Customers and management alike have been impressed with the system. It sounds terrific while still enabling customers to hold a conversation without yelling. In every aspect of this project, it’s been a win-win for all involved,” he said.

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AV News to Know June 4, 2021: New Products, Cool Projects and People in New Places https://www.commercialintegrator.com/business_resources/sales_marketing/av-news-to-know-june-4-2021/ https://www.commercialintegrator.com/business_resources/sales_marketing/av-news-to-know-june-4-2021/#respond Fri, 04 Jun 2021 17:09:01 +0000 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/?p=99979 In this week’s edition: NDI 5 moves video and audio anywhere, Vox Media creates flexibility and a new adventure for the Schilling brothers.

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Here’s a closer look at some of the AV news, products and projects you might have missed this week. We call it AV News to Know:

New AV Products

Yamaha Unified Communications Announces New Enterprise Sound Bar

Elementary School Physics Teacher Uses Interactive Digital Whiteboard With Green Screen Mock-up Template. He Leads Lesson to Classroom full of Smart Diverse Children. Science Class with Kids Listening

Yamaha Unified Communications recently announced a new model to its Enterprise Sound Bar lineup, the ESB-1090.

The ESB-1090 solves common challenges and limitations in sound output to create a premium audio experience for remote conferencing, classrooms, and hotel guest rooms, lobbies, or meeting rooms. It features three modes, allowing users to opt between Conference, Education and Hotel.

Yamaha’s ESB-1090 features two subwoofers, two mid-range speakers and two tweeters. It connects to any sound source — display, PC, or mobile device — via HDMI, Bluetooth, or optical cable and analog audio.

TVU Networks Partners with JVCKENWOOD on TVU Ecosystem Access

TVU Networks this week announced it has partnered with JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, to provide access to TVU’s cloud-based solutions via CONNECTED CAM cameras using the native SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) video transport protocol.

The partnership provides improved content sharing and distribution workflows for sports and news organizations that have invested in the popular line of JVC studio, shoulder-mount, and handheld camcorders.

TVU accepts CONNECTED CAM content directly into its cloud-native production platform as live ISOs. CONNECTED CAM signals can also flow through the TVU Grid network, allowing seamless point-to-multipoint live video distribution or a direct connection to the TVU Partyline collaboration and broadcast-quality conferencing program for live productions.

NDI 5 Moves Video & Audio Anywhere in the World – For Free

NDI, a Vizrt Group brand, this week unveiled NDI version 5. From the planet’s largest broadcasters to billions of smartphone users with a story to tell, NDI 5 makes it possible to connect to any device, in any location, anywhere in the world – allowing it to work with almost any video application in the world.

Physical studios can connect to ones in the cloud and remote video production effectively becomes local.

NDI Bridge

New to the NDI Tools free download with NDI 5 is NDI Bridge. Forming a secure bridge between any NDI network regardless of location, NDI Bridge redefines the concept of remote workflows, opening up a wealth of new opportunities for live video production.

NDI Remote

Also new to NDI Tools, NDI Remote allows anyone using just a URL to contribute live audio and video using an Internet-connected device, like a camera phone or a web browser, to another point anywhere in the world. NDI Remote allows anyone, anywhere to contribute to a show – big or small.

Planar DirectLight Ultra Series Features Finest MicroLED Pixel Pitches

Planar this week announced the release of the Planar DirectLight Ultra Series, a premium line of fine pitch LED video wall displays delivering high resolution display experiences.

The Planar DirectLight Ultra Series presents several display technology advancements that, in combination, deliver big performance, including models with MicroLEDs, off-board power supply, proprietary alignment technology and built-in processing.

Offering models in 0.6-, 0.7-, 0.9- and 1.2-millimeter pixel pitches, the Planar DirectLight Ultra Series is ideal for close viewing distances and high-precision visual images and video. It supports mission-critical applications in control rooms, government, corporate board rooms and high-end residential.

Sharp NEC Display Solutions Partners with Avery Dennison on ActiveScene

Sharp NEC Display Solutions this week announced its partnership with Avery Dennison, delivering an interactive AV solution, ActiveScene.

Combining Avery Dennison’s Vela Dynamic System and NEC projection technology, ActiveScene provides a comprehensive AV solution to transform existing windows into engaging, eye-catching displays.

Utilizing Avery Dennison’s Vela smart window film, ActiveScene can be retrofitted to any window or glass surface. The film becomes opaque upon command to create a canvas where users can project a unique AV experience to their audiences. When ActiveScene is not in use, the glass remains transparent.

Audio Visual Projects

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Enhances Patient Experience

Tradition has dictated that when patients embark on a hospital stay, their only source of entertainment has been flipping channels offering little more than local news and sitcom reruns. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which severely limited visitation privileges, only exacerbated their options.

Late last year, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens began delivering a personalized welcome message and easy, interactive access to information and services on patients’ TV sets at its facility in Jamaica, N.Y.

“When I came to NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens and toured the facility, one of the first things that caught my attention were the LG smart TVs available to all patients,” said hospital CEO Neil J. Moore, who began his tenure at Queens in mid-February.

“A sophisticated system like this tells people who come in that we’re a hospital of choice, with top technology for improving patient experience. The fact that we can customize it for exactly the information we want to share is simply amazing,” he said.

“We took on a challenge that is now bearing tangible results,” the Queens hospital’s interim CEO Dean Mihaltses said of the project that began three years earlier. “What started as an upgrade of our TV service turned into much more. Now we can offer patients important education, too, and continually enhance their comfort and overall hospital experience through new technology.”

When NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens began its journey, it had been taking an analog, low-def satellite TV feed and distributing it to old-fashioned CRT TV sets in patient rooms.

Today, the hospital has a network of about 250 high-definition smart TVs from LG Business Solutions USA, integrated to communicate over the facility’s existing coaxial cable infrastructure and running TigrPX patient-engagement software designed and implemented by healthcare TV solutions provider TeleHealth Services.

“It’s gratifying now to walk by a patient’s room, see the HD content, and realize it’s a truly engaging experience for them,” said Greg Mahabee, manager of special projects for the hospital’s department of external affairs.

“We knew if we could create a quality platform that’s easy to use and puts patients in control, they’d be more comfortable. And what works here in Queens can eventually be used across our entire hospital system,” he said.

The NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens solution is built around the latest UL-hospital-listed LG 32-inch Pro:Centric health care TVs (model 32LT662M), designed to work with most pillow speakers, including with the hospital’s new Curbell Medical models supplied by TeleHealth Services, and run TeleHealth’s TigrPX system using their built-in LG webOS software.

“A hospital room TV is usually the center point of a patient’s experience,” said Tom Mottlau, director of healthcare and emerging markets for LG Business Solutions USA. “LG hospital TVs, combined with software from our solution providers, including TeleHealth Services, create a truly interactive portal to entertainment, information, education and more.”

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens adopted 32-inch flat-panels HDTVs based on room dimensions to help patients clearly and comfortably see everything on-screen.

The team at TeleHealth Services integrated RF distribution technology with all the TVs so they could receive not only entertainment channels from the new Spectrum TV cable head-end, but also the digital education and information content delivered through TigrPX over the hospital’s network.

“We recommended the LG TVs because they’re designed especially for healthcare and are ideally suited for running our interactive platform without any extra media devices,” explained

“Our system runs on the hospital’s data backbone then jumps off, if you will, and makes that last stretch to the in-room TVs over coaxial cable,” said Demetrious (Jim) Stratos, TeleHealth outcomes manager overseeing the NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens rollout.

“We didn’t have to run wires or open ceilings and we could install the system safely, under challenging circumstances, without disrupting patient care,” he said.

The new pillow speakers enable the patients to operate the LG hospital TVs and TigrPX system. TeleHealth Services programmed a tiled home screen giving users access to TV content, hospital information (such as pharmacy hours, locations and more), a set of programmable preferences and a catalog of patient education.

The TigrPX system interfaces with the hospital’s admission, discharge and transfer system to identify who is in each room, and they communicate with nurses’ station computers so staff can assign appropriate content to each patient and monitor whether they watch it.

When the system launched in October 2020, TeleHealth had built a library of about 250 education videos in English and Spanish, as well as with closed captions. Today, the content library has doubled.

“One of the best things is that the system is flexible and allows us to produce our own videos,” said Marzya Sdrewski, associate executive director of operations at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens.

The hospital’s content library already includes patient information about COVID-19, for example.

“Previously, there would be lots of information to give patients just as they were leaving the hospital,” said Sdrewski. “Now, with the new interactive TV system, we have a chance to start educating them much earlier.

“We can schedule videos based on their prognosis, including content that helps reinforce prescribed treatment or medications they should be taking. There are even videos to help them relax,” she said.

The nursing staff has embraced the LG hospital TVs and TigrPX system because the solution helps them deliver personalized care to more patients. The hospital’s patient satisfaction scores have started to improve, and early indications are that patients enjoy and use the system, so nurses know people are getting the health education they need.

Ultimately, nurses may spend more time treating patients and less time going over important information since the patients are now able to use the LG/TigrPX solution to watch and comprehend the material.

“With COVID, going into certain patient rooms can take extra time. We have to gown up and put on PPE, if necessary,” said Sherley Gebara, associate director of Nursing at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens. “The new system helps us improve our workflow and enhance the care we give patients.”

Looking ahead, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens is planning further enhancements with its LG-based TigrPX solution. Plans are underway to integrate it with the hospital’s electronic medical records system, enable patients to request services via the interactive TVs, and expand the education library to include videos in more languages.

The hospital also plans to install LG TVs in more care spaces, including its ambulatory surgery unit, cancer center, post-anesthesia care unit and other locations.

“The LG hospital TVs and TeleHealth TigrPX solution give our patients different ways to educate themselves without nurses handing them a whole bunch of information,” said Sdrewski. “Some are visual learners; some are auditory learners.

“I’m looking forward to after COVID when more patients can sit with family members and watch videos together and ask pointed questions about their care,” she said.

Vox Media Creates Flexible Connectivity, Remote Operations and Studio Growth

The Vox Media portfolio features some of the most respected editorial properties in the business, including Vox, New York Magazine, The Verge, The Cut, Eater, Vulture, The Strategist, Polygon and more.

The Vox Media Podcast Network is one of the largest collections of popular podcasts spanning technology, news, pop culture and futurism. Vox Media Studios is the group’s award-winning nonfiction production and distribution studio for multiple TV and streaming partners.

Miles Ewell, director of production technology for Vox Media, and his team of AV professionals manage all the internal equipment rental systems of the company, external sub-rental systems, all of the in-house studios, studio infrastructure design and building, and technical consultation across the company.

“A lot of our focus these days is on the podcast group, and the long-form studios team because they require a lot of tech support and consultation,” said Ewell. “We also support editorial video across the company, as well as events technology.”

Ewell and his team have supported the Studios division since launching a couple of years ago. The Studios division writes and sells shows to the likes of Netflix and Hulu, and other providers. The team also supports the Vox Media Podcast Network, which works with all of the company’s editorial groups and writers to build an extensive catalog of podcasts.

In all cases, the Production Technology team helps design, install and configure the studios and spaces and then provides on-going support for the studios.

“When I first started with Vox Media, I was running live sound for streaming sports shows, and when I joined, we were plagued with some challenging analog audio runs in our Bryant Park studio, that were regularly impacting our live streaming work,” said Ewell.

When the Vox Media team decided to build a new facility in New York, Ewell helped design the audio infrastructure to use Dante as much as possible.

“Being able to control everything remotely, you could do everything from somewhere else and that is so appealing,” he said. “I’m taking a fresh look at our podcast infrastructure. I see a lot of opportunity for using Dante.”

Ewell and the Vox Media team are looking forward to getting past the pandemic and back to a more normal level of business and creative interaction.

But many lessons have been learned for the work-from-home experience, and Ewell is looking to leverage the benefits of remote connectivity and control in future audio systems and production plans.

“We’re excited to get people back into our studios on a more regular basis,” he said. “I’m taking a deep look this year at how we can build really clean remote-controllable studios.

“I’m looking forward to seeing our use of Dante grow and seeing how I can have a studio in California controlled by a producer in New York. We just mix/match what we need to make a project happen,” said Ewell.

People and Places

DPA Microphones Adds Søren Høgsberg as Executive VP of Sales and Marketing

DPA Microphones this week announced the appointment of Søren Høgsberg as executive VP of sales and marketing, effective immediately. Høgsberg will call on his global experiences to lead DPA in strengthening the coordination of its sales and marketing initiatives.

A graduate and post-graduate of the Aarhus School of Business, Høgsberg most recently served as vice president of international sales at Demant A/S. Høgsberg also previously held senior positions at Vestas Wind System A/S and GN Store Nord A/S.

Luis and Alberto Schilling Launch WeInstall.IT

Luis Schilling and Alberto Schilling launched WeInstall.IT, an AV and information technology subcontracting firm based in Silicon Valley. WeInstall.IT provides certified and vetted AV and IT installers and field engineers across the west coast.

The company formed as a result of the pandemic to provide AV techs with an outlet for employment and to provide AV integrators with flexible staff options.

 

Services include service/support calls, implementing customer ticketing systems for faster response and supplying manpower. The team at WeInstall.IT specializes in presentation systems, digital signage, live streaming solutions, videoconferencing, distance learning, collaboration and networking for education, corporate, hospitality and government verticals.

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Duke University Commencement Given the Green Light with MLA Compact https://www.commercialintegrator.com/markets/education/duke-university-commencement/ https://www.commercialintegrator.com/markets/education/duke-university-commencement/#respond Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:12:16 +0000 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/?p=99964 RMB Audio creates a unique audio experience at socially distanced event at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C.

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After the widespread cancellation of the 2020 graduation and commencement season in the States, students were anxious to know whether this year they would be able to celebrate the completion of their degree programs on a grand stage.

Cooper Cannady of Martin Audio partner RMB Audio, the event’s long-term services provider, was faced with the same conundrum.

“We have serviced Duke University commencement at the Wallace Wade Stadium [in Durham, N.C.] since the evolution of the campus back in 2003,” said the RMB Audio owner, whose company is based nearby.

“This year I was invited to initiate planning for an event which I knew may never occur,” said Cannady.

When University president Vincent Price finally received the green light from the Center for Disease Control and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the RMB Audio tech team had to function test all equipment that had been dormant for one year.

The event was set for May 2; the stage loaded in on April 23 and the RMB Audio crew arrived on April 27. But, with strict socially distanced guidelines in force, the layout kept changing.

“Every day brought with it a new scenario,” said Cooper. While about 5,700 students had graduated, 2,000 undergraduates would attend, originally spaced six feet apart in the inner field, while the seating plans revised to allow an additional two guests.

Related: Diversified, Martin Audio Earn 2021 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise

The 40,000-capacity stadium would now host a total of 6,000 attendees and the original six-foot social distancing was reduced to 3 feet.

However, with the new seating design came a revision of the audio orientation. The planned seating at 180 degrees to the stage now increased to 220 degrees, placing seating behind the video wall.

“We were tasked with improving the audience experience in a setting that was entirely new from what everyone had practiced for years” said Cannady. “Suddenly we were unable to accommodate a third house left MLA Compact tower and instead had to deploy a stealth Martin Audio W8VDQ, driven by iK42 amps, to cover the expanding audience.”

This was integrated and concealed at the base of the further house left tower, while the two hangs of 12 MLA Compact enclosures at stage right were accompanied by a single hang of 12 MLA Compact at stage left.

“Decorators were insistent that no cabinets could be within the main camera image that required Martin Audio DD12’s to be placed on stands at ground level corners of the stage to cover the canter first row of seats,” said Cannady. “The audio image was seamless.”

The changes had been necessitated by the fact that the additional guests were set behind the stage in a J-shape, without visual access to the stage, but instead to a large Jumbotron at the far end of the field, the I-MAG supported by two LED walls, stage left and stage right.

However, such a sparsely occupied stadium presented challenges for system technician Matt Johnson.

“It meant there were more reflections to deal with, although we generally have reflections off the seating in any case,” he said.

In Martin Audio’s proprietary DISPLAY 2.3 operating software, they were able to deploy the Hard Avoid function to mitigate these reflections.

Inside the Duke University Commencement

Three identical lecterns were placed on stage, one of which was used by singer-songwriter John Legend, who delivered the commencement speech and received an honorary degree.

There was no live orchestra present this year—only a pre-recorded track—but there was a seven-piece a capella choral group spaced four feet apart.

“From the presenters’ perspective we set the monitor gain above the stadium reflections by having a monitor engineer listen from the stage participant position via a Neumann microphone to distinguish the monitor pulse and the SPL of the stadium reflections,” said Cannady.

“We also had a medical kit, windscreens for the mics with disposable wraps, cleaning and sanitization, which was all very discreet,” he said.

Cannady confirmed they had achieved the same sound at the first seat in Wallace Wade Stadium as at the back, with just a minimal dropoff in SPL overall.

“In all instances, the production requirements were increased above the project need to make certain we delivered a bigger and better auditory experience,” he said. “We will never see this type of health restrictive production again.

“The event could have been terminated at any time due to COVID-19 restrictions and I applaud the university for completing the memorable graduation,” said Cannady.

The Office of the Duke University president referred to the event having been a resounding success. In a comment to Cannady, they said, “I know that it was a very meaningful experience for our graduates and their families, particularly given the challenges of the past 14 months.”

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Christie Plays Starring Role in Redevelopment of BAFTA’s Iconic Headquarters https://www.commercialintegrator.com/markets/entertainment/christie-bafta-headquarters/ https://www.commercialintegrator.com/markets/entertainment/christie-bafta-headquarters/#respond Thu, 03 Jun 2021 15:27:02 +0000 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/?p=99958 Christie LED, RGB projection and servers will enable an expansion of BAFTA’s learning and talent development program.

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Christie has been chosen by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) as a technology partner for its redeveloped headquarters at 195 Piccadilly in London.

The partnership will see a host of Christie integrated technology installed throughout the building, including flagship Christie MicroTiles LED tiles, as well as 3DLP RGB pure laser, 1DLP laser projectors, media servers and software.

The redeveloped space will enable BAFTA to expand its learning and talent support program through broadcast events and screenings, supporting talent across film, games and television in the U.K. and across the world.

“We are so excited to be working with Christie to help bring our redeveloped space at 195 Piccadilly to life,” said Louise Robertson, executive director of partnerships and fundraising.

Related: Christie Projectors Light Up FlyRide at ‘Beyond the Lens!’ Attraction

“The state-of-the-art technology Christie provides will give BAFTA some of the resources needed to dramatically expand our learning and talent development program. With the generous support of our partners and donors, BAFTA will be able to provide the next generation with the tools to develop a career in film, games and television,” she said.

“It’s a privilege to partner with a world-leading arts charity with such creative heritage,” said Michael Bosworth, executive VP of enterprise at Christie. “We are inspired by creativity and keen to support talent wherever we can.

“BAFTA does an exemplary job of this in the film, games and television industries. We are confident Christie’s technologies can play a role in BAFTA’s efforts to inspire, nurture and develop the next generation of creatives as part of its stunning refurb at 195 Piccadilly,” he said.

Inside the BAFTA Headquarters

In 2022, BAFTA will relaunch its learning and talent development program, enabled by the redevelopment of 195 Piccadilly. The new program will engage more than 10 million learners with a BAFTA resource online and equip 80,000 people a year with the tools to develop a career in film, games and television via events, competitions and initiatives.

In addition, year-round support will be given to 4,000 individuals through initiatives including BAFTA Breakthrough, BAFTA Crew and Young Game Designers.

Among the technology supporting this program is a 1.2 x 2.7 meters (3.9 ft x 8.8 ft) Christie MicroTiles LED video wall that will welcome visitors with content at the reception entrance.

The Ray Dolby Room foyer will be fitted with two video walls and a floor-to-ceiling projection display using 1DLP laser projectors, Christie Pandoras Box server and Christie Mystique Premium Edition, a multi-camera, automated warping and blending tool for stacking and edge-blending projection systems.

In addition, working with CinemaNext, the Shaw Theatre will be powered by a DCI-compliant Christie CP2309-RGB pure laser cinema projector, for screens up to 13 meters (44 feet) wide, while an array of multi-purpose spaces and boardrooms will feature Christie 1DLP laser projectors and LCD display panels with Christie Pandoras Box Manager and Widget Designer for content management and processing.

Christie will also provide installation services and training throughout the renovation process. The new BAFTA 195 Piccadilly is slated to open officially to the public in early 2022.

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San Francisco Opera Stages “The Barber of Seville” Outdoors https://www.commercialintegrator.com/control_automation/lighting_controllers/san-francisco-opera-barber-seville-outdoors/ https://www.commercialintegrator.com/control_automation/lighting_controllers/san-francisco-opera-barber-seville-outdoors/#respond Wed, 02 Jun 2021 18:45:07 +0000 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/?p=99912 Ayrton Perseo-S fixtures helps San Francisco Opera bring opera back to town in a COVID-19 safe outdoor production of Rossini production.

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The San Francisco Opera utilized a complement of Ayrton Perseo-S fixtures when it brought opera back to town in a COVID-safe outdoor production of Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” at Marin Center in San Rafael, California.

Ayrton Perseos are a multi-function luminaire with an IP65 enclosure rating developed for intensive outdoor use. ACT Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton fixtures in North America.

“The Barber of Seville,” directed by Matthew Ozawa, ran from April 23-May 15 at Marin Center, 15 minutes from San Francisco, where the audience pulled up their cars alongside the lagoon with the beautiful hills of Marin in the background.

Related: Ayrton MagicBlade LEDs Give New Life to Maroon 5 Performance

They watched the production, on a custom-built stage with soaring LED video walls from their vehicles.

“We have staged concerts before in Golden Gate Park, but nothing to this extent has been produced outside in the three years I have been with the company,” said Justin Partier, lighting director for the San Francisco Opera.

“We considered several venues and found Marin Center to be the best location. So we constructed a stage and used the set from a yet to be produced production of ‘Fidelio’ in a new configuration,” he said.

The San Francisco Opera final dress rehearsal of “Barber of Seville” at the Marin Center on Wednesday evening, April 21, 2021.

More About ‘Barber of Seville’ Outdoors in SF

Partier says the lighting team was looking for a fixture that offered shuttering, gobos, color and diffusion, which was small enough to place inside the set. The lights also had to be able to withstand any inclement weather during the opera’s three-week run. Perseo-S ticked all those boxes.

“The fixtures had to be small and bright – they were the only way to get light underneath the set from side light and footlight positions,” said Partier. “They also needed to be rated for outdoor use. As it turned out, we had only one really wet day with the rest California sunshine and rainbows.”

Partier says that Aaron Hubbard with ACT Lighting helped steer him to Perseo. Felix Lighting of Burlingame, Calif., supplied the fixtures.

“Any time the four video panel back walls were in the open position, we painted gobos onto them with the prism,” said Partier. “The gobos were particularly effective in the storm and shave sequences.”

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L-Acoustics K2 is First-Round Pick for NFL Draft https://www.commercialintegrator.com/markets/sports/l-acoustics-k2-nfl-draft/ https://www.commercialintegrator.com/markets/sports/l-acoustics-k2-nfl-draft/#respond Tue, 01 Jun 2021 15:04:36 +0000 https://www.commercialintegrator.com/?p=99850 LD Systems deploys 130-plus L-Acoustics enclosures, including 70 K2 for daily events, plus nightly concerts.

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Each spring, the annual NFL Draft broadcast offers millions of sports fans an exciting opportunity to discover with which franchises players will be signing for the upcoming football season.

This year’s event, held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, welcomed 50,000 fans a day for live events, including the NFL Draft Experience interactive football festival and nightly concerts from Black Pumas, Kings of Leon, and one of the city’s native sons, Machine Gun Kelly.

Once again, the National Football League and events promoter C3 Presents chose Houston-based Certified Provider LD Systems as the live sound vendor for the NFL Draft. LD’s primary deployment was for the Draft Theater, a massive 200-foot-wide by 220-foot-deep by 80-foot-tall half-moon structure created by Stage FX.

Erected near FirstEnergy Stadium and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, overlooking Lake Erie, the structure housed the NFL Draft Theater Stage, where NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made pick announcements and where all concerts and other main events took place.

Related: TVU Networks Gets the Call for NFL Draft Live Video Distribution

“As we experienced at both the 2019 Draft in Nashville and during the planning phases of the 2020 Draft in Las Vegas prior to that event being cancelled due to COVID, we knew to expect limitations on where and how high or low we could fly our arrays,” said LD Systems audio department operations manager Thomas Ruffner.

He worked closely with 2021 Draft Theater production manager Shawn Worlow of The Production Collective and C3 Presents director of production Brandon Sossamon on the system’s design, implementation and operation.

“After all, the event is a live televised broadcast, so the spectacle of the set, the look of the stage with massive video walls and abundant lighting had to take priority over where our arrays could fly,” said Ruffner.

“This year’s stage design featured a thrust with V-shaped runways extending over 50 feet from the main stage. We were facing challenges against both aesthetics and getting the coverage we needed at the SPL we wanted without spilling a ton of energy to the very spot where each pick would be announced,” he said.

Inside the 2021 NFL Draft

For the Draft Theater’s main left and right arrays, LD Systems required full-range bandwidth, a short throw and a bottom trim of at least 55 feet, making L-Acoustics K2 an ideal choice.

“We flew eight K2 per side, and our site angle on those arrays ended up at -46°, so by the time we increased the angle between each box, the bottom of the array was facing nearly parallel to the floor,” said Ruffner.

“Above those arrays, we flew a four-enclosure hang of KS28, in cardioid configuration, which made for a ton of impact out of the mains and also kept our rigging points concentrated in a very tight area,” he said.

To round out the side coverage where the mains could not reach, the LD Systems team flew arrays of six K2 for outfills as high as they physically could, putting the bottom trim right around 50 feet.

“The throw for the mains needed to be quite short because the NFL Network and ESPN had broadcast booths just ‘house left’ and ‘house right’ of the FOH mix position, but still within the structure of the Draft Theater,” said LD Systems audio crew chief and systems engineer Bryan Woodall.

“The live show was broadcast from these locations, so on those eight-foot-tall booths, they wanted as little energy from the main PA as possible,” he said. “This meant that we couldn’t focus energy from the mains onto FOH, so we flew a centerfill array of two L-Acoustics K1-SB over six K2 set to 70° horizontal dispersion.

“That let them cut through to the house mix position without compromising the network booths. We were very effectively able to tailor the dispersion pattern to where it needed to be and away from where it shouldn’t,” he said.

For general audience coverage, which was a 500-foot wide by 200-foot deep area just outside of the Stage FX structure, the sound company flew two main delay arrays of four K1 over four K2, plus two outfill delay arrays of eight K2 each from the end of the structure.

In an effort to keep from compromising sightlines, the arrays were taken up about as high as physically possible.

Additional L-Acoustics systems deployed included a dozen KS28 ground subs under the stage, eight Kara and eight Kiva II enclosures used for frontfill, 12 K2 on a delay tower addressing the NFL Draft Experience area 600 feet out from the Draft Theater, and a stage monitoring package comprised of 16 115XT HiQ coaxial wedges and two SB28 plus two SB18 subs.

The full L-Acoustics complement was collectively driven by 18 LA-RAK and three LA-RAK II amplified controller racks, all networked via LA Network Manager.

“Everything went extremely well and sounded fantastic,” said Ruffner.

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