Alcorn McBride’s Digital Binloop HD multi-channel video player plays a key role in the attention-getting 105-foot videowall spanning the lobby of the new Chicago headquarters of WMS Gaming Inc., a leading global innovator in the design, manufacture and distribution of electronic and digital gaming entertainment and gaming machines for the casino industry.

The impressive videowall consists of seven HD displays each of which is comprised of nine 60-inch Sharp monitors. The displays are separated from one another by about two feet of space. Mounted above the lobby’s wood-paneled walls just under the ceiling, the videowall measures nine feet high and stretches 105 feet across the lobby.

Environmental Systems Designs hired Sound Inc. to handle the AV install for the videowall. Sound Inc. deployed 7 channels of Digital Binloop HD to play the changing video content, which attracts attention from visitors and employees alike.

The Digital Binloop HD provides up to 8 channels of HD video in a compact, economical and highly-reliable package designed for continuous daily use with no maintenance. Video clips are stored on CompactFlash media so there are no moving parts to wear out; each card can hold hours of media.

“With a videowall of that size the question is what to put on it,” notes Hank Schulz, Sales Engineer of Sound Inc. “A friend of mine who shoots commercials and does product branding helped us put together some ideas. We have footage of the Chicago skyline shot by seven HD cameras; we compressed 18 hours of material to 40 minutes. We also have waves on Newport Beach and an animation of hot air balloons in a blue sky. We even have amazing HD footage from the Boston Aquarium that makes the videowall look like a 100-foot long fish tank.”

Schulz reports that the Digital Binloop HD’s “reliability and performance has been good – it’s delivering video without any hiccups and working very well.” The two-foot gap between each display is accounted for in the system’s raster.

The WMS headquarters building is part of a new Technology Campus on the north side of Chicago designed by architect SCB. The campus master plan features six new high-performance buildings integrated into an existing manufacturing district along the shore of the Chicago River. The first phase of development includes the LEED Platinum HQ, which boasts four levels of offices plus a penthouse and landscaped rooftop garden.

About Alcorn McBride:
Founded in 1986, Alcorn McBride is the leading manufacturer of show control, audio and video equipment for the themed entertainment industry, and a rapidly growing provider of audio and video systems for retail environments and transportation applications. Staffed by some of the industry’s best engineers and backed by outstanding customer support, the company has demonstrated great agility in bringing new designs to market. A hallmark of Alcorn McBride products is their durable, zero maintenance design. The company’s products provide consistent, reliable operation for audio and video playback applications worldwide. For more information, visit www.alcorn.com.

There were Spyders in the house at Budweiser’s Made In America Festival in Philadelphia on Labor Day weekend, and the 100,000 or so people who turned out to hear Jay-Z and Pearl Jam were glad they came. Austin-based J3 Productions LLC, a leader in multi-source and destination management for corporate events and large-venue live entertainment, selected Vista Spyders to pixel map LED content and handle live background media on the main stage during the two-day concert series on Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Jay-Z headlined the first night of the Made In America festival performing for 90 minutes before a crowd estimated at nearly 50,000; Pearl Jam led off the second night with a two-hour set for fans. The festival benefited United Way.

A long-time Spyder user, J3 didn’t think twice before choosing the system for the media-rich main stage. “Spyder is the most powerful and versatile high-resolution pixel mapping system on the market today,” declares J3 applications engineer John Mims III. “We have been using Spyder since 2006 and have been on the cutting edge of this technology evolution.”

J3 deployed three Spyder X20 1608 systems running in parallel to meet the challenge of mapping over 1,700 LED panels that formed the backdrop for the main concert stage and to handle the live background media displayed. “Spyder was a great choice for its mapping and live control abilities,” says Mims. “By running the three systems in parallel we could map the outputs to LED processors to create one virtual image. A total of 12 media servers were used to stream content through the Spyders to paint one very large contiguous image at 11520×2160 resolution.”

The LED panels were configured as a pair of tall vertical panels that flanked the stage and sprouted upswept wings evoking the iconic symbol of America – and Anheuser-Busch’s (Budweiser) eagle logo. A thin ribbon of LED panels also ran across the top of the stage. The LEDs displayed IMAG and other graphical images that lit up the night and supported the powerful musical performances on stage.

A.C.T Lighting continues to expand its technical support team with the addition of Esteban Caracciolo. In his new role he will support the company’s entire range of products, including MA lighting and Clay Paky, as well as train customers on the use and operation of those products.

“Our tech support specialists have shown themselves to be a team of best-qualified professionals,” says A.C.T Lighting Executive Vice President Ben Saltzman. “We’re pleased to welcome Esteban aboard as we grow tech support to enhance our ability to service our customers.”

For the last five years, until the company’s closure in August, Caracciolo was product manager for PRG Distribution North America handling ChamSys lighting consoles and Arkaos media servers and software in the U.S. and Canada.

Prior to that he was a lighting designer and programmer for various touring acts, including a five-year run with the band Fall Out Boy. Earlier, Caracciolo worked locally in live venues with lighting and staging vendors in the Kansas City area. He has played in many bands himself; he began his musical career at age six at the piano and ended up a bass player.

“I’m excited to be joining the A.C.T technical support team,” he says. “Their stellar support model along with the familiar, proven and top notch product line that A.C.T Lighting offers make a recipe for success.”

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.

Electrosonic provided extensive audio, video and data information support to the County of Santa Barbara’s new Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which houses a number of technology-enabled spaces designed to help the California county maintain a constant state of readiness. Electrosonic equipped the permanent home of the Office of Emergency Management with presentation, video conferencing and streaming video capabilities.

“Santa Barbara County went from a 1,600 square-foot trailer with a projector and a small TV to a new 11,000 square-foot building powered in part by green energy,” says Electrosonic project manager Jeff Galato Sr. The new EOC facilitates the sharing of information from various internal and external sources, whether it’s news media, incident maps from geospatial services, live video streams from a county helicopter, or operational reports. Having critical information displayed and shared – via large display screens, flat-panel monitors or video conferencing systems – improves management decisions.

Electrosonic’s role encompassed installations in the Incident Management Room, Management Conference Room, Breakout Room, Joint Information Center, Media Distribution System, Director’s Office, staff Break Room, and Lobby.

A mobile tablet device operating on the building’s secured Wi-Fi network allows the EOC to control the majority of its systems with a graphically intuitive user control system interface. The tablet not only controls all AV components, displays throughout the EOC, but it more importantly provides the staff with complete control of the new system right at their fingertips, allowing them to focus more on making quick emergency response decisions.

At the heart of the EOC is the Incident Management Room, the main operations center for the county’s emergency management staff. Designed with flexible seating configurations for approximately 40 people from county and municipal agencies, the room features AV presentation technologies provided by Electrosonic that can help meet an array of incident needs. The primary display consists of three wall-mounted front projection screens to accommodate widescreen images from three ceiling-mounted Mitsubishi video projectors. All source and routing/processing equipment is housed in an equipment rack in the Telecommunications Room.

The Management Conference Room and the Breakout Room, both can host up to 16 participants, feature AV systems provided by Electrosonic that accommodate synchronous video conferencing and multimedia presentation. They each feature a 70-inch, wall-mounted Sharp flat-panel display for use with presentation materials, and the Management Conference Room has an additional two 55-inch wall-mounted NEC flat-panel displays for video conferencing. A flip-top cable enclosure in each conference room table has inputs for a laptop and portable AV sources. Each room features a single OFCI HD pan/tilt/zoom Sony HD1 camera. All rack-mounted equipment in both meeting rooms is housed in custom credenzas inside each room.

The Joint Information Center, which acts as the primary Public Information Office, displays the status during an emergency to enable public information officers to distribute critical updates to the general public. Electrosonic provided a ceiling-mounted Mitsubishi video/data projector as the primary display, and a wall-mounted NEC flat-panel to serve as a backdrop for press. As in the meeting rooms, this space also offers a flip-top cable enclosure and a custom equipment credenza.

Audio for the Incident Management Room, the Management Conference Room, the Operations Breakout room and the Joint Information Center is reinforced by a distributed system of ceiling-mounted Tannoy loudspeakers.

For the Director’s Office, which is intended for executive-session video conferencing, Electrosonic provided a 50-inch flat-panel display, wireless mics, and stereo loudspeakers attached to the flat panel. A Break Room is outfitted with a single wall-mounted, HD flat-panel display with built-in TV tuner, which will be used to display content via the building’s SMATV distribution system. Control of this display is done via the display’s remote control.

Electrosonic was also charged with supplying the Media Distribution System within the Telecommunications Room. As the primary head-end for the AV system throughout the facility, it includes sources such as direct broadcast satellite, off-air antenna, cable television, DVD player, OFCI WEBEOC feeds, and video conferencing codecs. The distribution system allows any source to be viewed from any location’s display or PC by using H.264 video streaming encoders/decoders. Video and audio signals are distributed from room to room and delivered to non PC-based display devices via twisted pair cabling.

In addition, Electrosonic furnished the Lobby with a single flat-panel display monitor with an embedded PC, which is connected to the building LAN and used for the creation and transmission of the signage content. In addition to being controlled by a mobile tablet like the rest of the systems in the EOC, control of the display can also be executed via an HTML page on a facility-provided PC.

“Fortunately, since we completed the project, the county has not had any incidents that required activating the Emergency Operations Center,” says Galato. “Through exercises and training, emergency management staff have used the system and found the ability to immediately share relevant information critical. We had a very good installation; the county staff was great to work with.”

Electrosonic Service Solutions has been contracted to provide service coverage to the new EOC. The service contract coverage provides 4-hour response time, unlimited service calls, full equipment coverage and two preventative maintenance visits annually.

At Electrosonic Richard Dussaigne was sales consultant and Rob Perry, Fred Scripture, Liz Lopez and Oliver Pemberton, control systems programmer, comprised the EOC project staff.

About Electrosonic
Electrosonic is an international audio-visual company that creates tailored, state-of-the-art solutions for a wide range of markets including theme parks, museums, video conferencing and control rooms. Since its founding in 1964, Electrosonic has built a strong reputation for working on complex projects, both large and small, and has developed lasting partnerships with customers and suppliers. Beyond complete integrated systems, Electrosonic provides a comprehensive scope of services including technical design, projector lamp sales, maintenance and operational support.

Learn more about Electrosonic. Visit http://www.electrosonic.com

Robert Juliat will be exhibiting at LDI 2012 in booth #501.

LDI 2012 marks the official US launch of TIBO and ZEP, Robert Juliat’s latest LED profiles which enjoyed a successful introduction last month at Plasa in London.

TIBO LED is a high intensity 75W LED profile with a choice of two zoom ranges in one single unit (30°/45 and 15°/ 35°). Plastic, glass or metal M-size gobos can be projected and benefit from the easy alignment afforded by the 360° rotating lens tube. Three color temperatures are available: Warm White (3000K), Neutral White (4000K) and Cool White (6500K). TIBO LED is supplied with a separate, flicker-free power supply which makes it extremely versatile as it can be used in film, television and studio environments as well as in traditional theatre. TIBO’s compact size and cool running LED engine make it suitable for use in historically and architecturally sensitive venues, exhibitions, museums and whenever lighting valuable or light-sensitive objects.

ZEP is the big brother of TIBO with a powerful 150W LED light source. Two color temperatures are available: Warm White 3200K and Cool White 6000K. ZEP’s double condenser optical system and A size gobos combine the best beam quality with maximum light output to give sharp gobo projection using plastic, metal or glass gobos. Gobos can be locked firmly in position using RJ’s user-friendly barrel lock, while RJ’s unique shutter locking system can lock up to 8 shutters in place within the gate.

A silent, flicker-free, built-in PSU makes ZEP ideal for studio applications when working alongside sensitive camera equipment. ZEP has smooth, high-quality dimming, even at low levels, which renders it perfect for all theatre applications, including the high demands of opera. ZEP is available in three zoom options: 28°/54°, 16°/35° and 11°/26°.

Also in the booth will be a selection of Robert Juliat’s famous followspots including the 2500W Cyrano, the 1800W VICTOR and the 575W Buxie.

For more information on these – or any – Robert Juliat products come and talk to Robert Juliat in Booth 501.

Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures were crazy popular on the “Carnival of Madness” tour, the annual rock extravaganza that played major US cities this summer. Evanescence headlined dates across the country along with Chevelle, Halestorm, New Medicine and CAVO.

Dan Hardiman of THC Design, the lighting designer for Evanescence, selected 26 Sharpy fixtures for the exclusive use of the band. The core of the Evanescence rig was used for all of the musical acts.

“I had previously used Sharpys for Goo Goo Dolls and for Evanescence as floor specials,” says Hardiman. “Sharpys are a very lightweight fixture whose beam is visible in daylight. For this tour I wanted to remove the ACLs from the flown rig to save on focusing time and eliminate the need to climb any trusses. Sharpy was the perfect choice: Its small footprint and high power-to-weight ratio enabled the units to be placed in tight clusters and still cut through the 1500W moving lights.”

Hardiman placed 14 Sharpys upstage on the floor positioned in pairs on draped cases and used them for both aerial effects and to back light the band. He deployed a dozen Sharpy fixtures in the roof in bars of three as ACL effects and Lekos and to reinforce the floor aerial effects.

“The Sharpys performed very well,” he reports. “I loved them as floor fixtures and it was great to get some in the roof this time.”

A.C.T Lighting is the distributor for Clay Paky in North America.

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky Area Manager for North and Latin America, adds, “Dan has become a big fan or our Sharpys and it’s great to see that he’s using them on this tour as well. The show looks awesome and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

When Timberlake Church in Redmond, Washington wanted to redesign its main stage, it asked FocusWorship for help in meeting its AV needs. A Vista Systems Spyder X20 features prominently in the new install, which has a breakthrough LED wall at its center and numerous other display devices scattered across the campus.

FocusWorship is a rapidly growing, five-year old company in West Richland, Washington that provides AV, lighting and LED wall systems design and integration to the worship community. Its just-launched FocusAVLED division offers similar services to the education, medical, corporate and theater sectors.

FocusWorship owner Dave Dartnall’s extensive background in worship ministry helped Timberlake Church “clarify the vision of what it wanted to accomplish on stage,� he notes. “They needed something simple, compelling and high impact. A clean stage with an LED wall was the solution, creating and controlling all of the content digitally so they wouldn’t be wearing out a volunteer crew resetting the stage every week. And it was clear that Spyder needed to be the brain behind all the video distribution.�

Dartnall was convinced that an LED wall was the right solution for delivering the church’s message to a congregation that includes some very AV savvy people. “Timberlake Church is in the middle of Microsoft country, and some of the most advanced professionals in the world attend,� he reports. “The church needed to speak the language of its congregation, and it was willing to make a significant financial investment to connect with them. The result has been pretty powerful and amazing: On the Sunday the new stage debuted, the media professionals in the congregation lined up to take a look at the control room.�

FocusWorship installed a proprietary 24×14-foot LED wall with 6mm dot pitch on the stage of the sanctuary auditorium. It forms the back wall for those on stage: speakers, pastors, and the rockin’ band led by Julian Garcia.

“The LED wall’s picture quality looks like HDTV – only ten times better,� Dartnall declares. “It’s crystal clear and stays bright even with all the stage lights required to record services, unlike projection screens that tend to wash out.� And unlike split screens that can divert a congregation’s attention from the leader or speaker, the single big LED wall powerfully supports the activity on stage without having congregants disengage from the worship service underway.

The LED wall is active from the moment people arrive in the auditorium displaying a countdown clock, points of information and scripture verses, then song lyrics, graphics, personal testimonies, and preproduced video content during the service. “It’s a very media-rich environment,� says Dartnall. Two angled projection screens, a bit higher than the top of the LED wall and driven by a pair of 6K lumen projectors, flank the center wall and display IMAG of the service.

“So far the Timberlake LED wall is the only one we know of in a church in the Pacific Northwest,� says Dartnall. “It’s exciting to be part of what we see as a rapidly growing trend.�

FocusWorship’s LED wall is “a very affordable solution for this market at just one-quarter the cost of most current LEDs available,� he notes. It eliminates the need for expensive projector bulb replacement, offers low electrical consumption, and can last ten years in constant use. “The cost savings for an installation over time can be huge,� he says.

Spyder delivers the video content to the LED wall and to an array of flat-panel TVs/digital signage displays located in the church lobby, nursery, an overflow room and other areas. “Spyder takes the video signal and spreads it to its different destinations,� Dartnall explains. “It can take a lot of other devices to do what Spyder does all by itself. It’s completely in a league of its own. Spyder is able to support the media-rich environment everyone is craving.�

Content sources in the dedicated control room include computers, DVDs, media players and live cameras. “We really need all of Spyder’s inputs,� notes Rob Schulgren, lead installer at FocusWorship, “and Spyder’s amazing video processing capabilities. Timberlake Church also takes advantage of Spyder features such as PIP.� A High Resolution Systems UDC Spyder Touch serves as the touchscreen interface, he adds.

“The church has a technical director who’s built a volunteer team� to man the LED wall, says Dartnall. “Just like Timberlake Church, Spyder values simplicity. So the technical director is able to preprogram all media before the service, and the volunteers just push the buttons on the UDC Spyder Touch to trigger content. I understand that the chance to use this sophisticated equipment has boosted the church’s volunteer base!�

One of FocusWorship’s technical engineers, Marshall Hopkins, was also a key member of the Timberlake Church install team.

A.C.T Lighting is pleased to announce that Alexandre Monast will be working with A.C.T Lighting Canada as a representative in the Province of Quebec.  Alex will be handling technical sales in Quebec. The Toronto office of A.C.T Lighting opened earlier this year.

For the last decade Monast has worked with the famed Cirque du Soleil. He began as a console operator and moving light technician on one of the troupe’s touring shows then subsequently worked on three others as lighting director, programmer and assistant lighting designer.

Lighting has long been Monast’s passion. Earlier in his career he spent six years working in Canada and internationally as a freelance chief electrician and project manager for the private market, corporate sector, theater and concerts.

“We welcome Alex aboard in his new post where he will be focusing on sales to the province of Quebec,� notes Andrew Beck, general manager of A.C.T Lighting Canada Inc. “Alex’s dedication to productions, designers and lighting customers from all arenas will ensure that they have the right tools to bring their visions to life.�

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.

High Resolution Systems’ popular UDC (Universal Device Controller) software proved a rewarding solution for Chaos Visual Productions on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ spring/summer tour of the US, Canada and Europe. The tour included Petty’s first major performances in the UK and Europe in two decades.

The go-to company for specialty lighting, LED special effects, video projection, show programming and effects lighting, Chaos Visual Productions had previously relied on expensive custom programming solutions to enable control of a Vista Spyder video processor from the grandMA2 lighting console.

“With our UDC software Chaos was able to set up an ArtNet translation table and do the programming themselves,” says High Resolution’s Drew Taylor. “UDC’s ArtNet feature makes it easy to set up and use an interface that allows you to build your own translation table. It’s a well-tested feature that’s used in live environments all the time, so we knew Chaos would be really happy with it for the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tour.”

Taylor notes that the killer app delivered for Chaos at the front end of the tour and for its duration. “It simplified set up and execution before the tour began, and it provided a cost savings during the tour. With this UDC feature you don’t need an additional person switching video on the tour: The lighting director or console operator can handle it.”

Chaos Visual Productions previously teamed with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on their 2010 tour. The company has also worked with 50 Cent, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and John Mayer among other artists. With offices in Los Angeles, Nashville and London, Chaos also provides dynamic visual solutions for film, video and special events.

About High Resolution Systems
High Resolution Systems, a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers is a company with a strong systems engineering and applications background. Its founders have decades of experience in the audiovisual rental and staging industry, broadcast applications, A/V installations and system design. This combined experience allows them to provide the highest possible quality solutions to its customers in the most efficient manner. For more information, visit www.hrscontrol.com.

It’s been a long hot summer just about everywhere, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are amping up the heat with their “I’m With You World Tour,” which features Clay Paky Sharpys and Alpha Beam 1500 luminaires.

The rock band’s tour began last fall and extends into 2013. In support of their tenth studio album, “I’m With You,” the tour is playing dates across North America this summer with shows in stadiums and arenas.

Lighting designer Scott Holthaus of Happy Machine specified 96 Sharpys in a full octagon grid for the band’s indoor shows, 78 for the stadium shows plus a compliment of Alpha Beam 1500s for the outdoor performances. The lights were supplied by Premiere Global Productions.

Holthaus says he uses the Sharpys “to fill the arenas with chopsticks of light – it’s a really cool effect. I don’t use smoke in the stadiums and the trick for working outdoors is to get any beams from the lights. With the Sharpys I can also cover the audience at great distances where most lights fail. For their size and weight, the Sharpy’s power and output is amazing. They’re the coolest light of the decade, and everyone knows that.”

He opted to add Alpha Beam 1500s to his stadium inventory when travel restrictions called for a limited number of fixtures and easy transport by plane. “I had to have a great tracking beam,” he says. ” I had used the Clay Paky 300s for a TV show and had such success with them that moving to the 1500s was a no brainer,” he reports. “I needed the coolest and most powerful lights I could find.”

Holthaus has been so pleased with the performance of the Alpha Beam 1500s that he eventually wants “to replace more of my lights with them. They’re very fast at pan and tilt. They’re a great telephone pole of light – like a giant Sharpy! They’ve also held up in bad weather – it’s been raining a lot, almost every day, and we haven’t had any failures.”

The lighting designer is becoming such a fan of Clay Paky lighting fixtures, in fact, that he’s planning to use more for future projects. “I could gladly do an all-Clay Paky show in a second,” he declares. “I’m easily their biggest fan!”

A.C.T Lighting is the distributor for Clay Paky in North America.

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky Area Manager for North and Latin America, adds, “Scott used our Sharpys on last year’s tour and I remember how pleased he was with them then. I’m glad to see he’s filled out his inventory and look forward to working with him in the future.”