November 28, 2012 — Sydney, Australia: Digital Rapids has been chosen by Foxtel to provide encoding and streaming solutions to underpin Foxtel’s ground-breaking new video initiatives. Foxtel has purchased StreamZ Live adaptive streaming encoders and the Digital Rapids Broadcast Manager multi-encoder management system to power the new Foxtel Go App.

The Digital Rapids encoders and management software are being used to provide IP streams for Foxtel on Xbox 360, Foxtel on Connected TV, and the Foxtel Go App. They were also used to provide IP streams for the hugely successful Foxtel LONDON 2012 Olympic Games App.

“Foxtel Go is an exciting new way for our customers to watch our premium TV shows, series and sport on the go, and it was imperative the service be built on a technical foundation that delivers the superior quality and reliability that our customers demand,” said Foxtel Executive Director of Product, Jim Rudder. “Digital Rapids solutions met our stringent criteria, and their outstanding support is also a critical factor to our success.”

“We’re excited that Foxtel has chosen our solutions to power their innovative Foxtel Go App,” said Neville Paterson, Sales Manager, Asia Pacific at Digital Rapids. “Our encoding and streaming solutions deliver exceptional quality and performance for service providers expanding their reach to new platforms ranging from game consoles to mobile devices, and we look forward to working closely with Foxtel in the future as their services continue to grow.”

The StreamZ Live family of encoders delivers an industry-leading combination of outstanding quality, reliability, versatility and easy operation in powerful configurations for multi-platform live streaming applications. Adaptive streaming models of StreamZ Live encode and stream live HD and SD content with superior quality and performance for delivery through both standard streaming protocols and the latest generation of adaptive streaming technologies. The Digital Rapids Broadcast Manager software provides enterprise-class management, automation, monitoring and fault tolerance for multiple live streaming encoders, with features including scheduling, automated failover and alert notifications.

For more information about StreamZ Live, Digital Rapids Broadcast Manager and other Digital Rapids solutions, please visit www.digitalrapids.com.

About Digital Rapids Corporation — Digital Rapids provides market-leading content transformation and workflow solutions that empower the world’s leading media organizations to reach wider audiences more efficiently, more effectively and more profitably. Recipients of more than two dozen prestigious awards for company and product excellence, Digital Rapids combines innovative technology with proven expertise and visionary insight to help our customers expand their audiences, increase their revenues, and reduce their costs. Digital Rapids Corporation (www.digitalrapids.com) is headquartered in Ontario, Canada with offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia and Argentina.

About Foxtel — Foxtel is one of Australia’s most progressive and dynamic media companies, directly employing around 2,500 people, and delivering a diverse subscription television service to both regional and metropolitan areas over cable, satellite and broadband distribution. We offer a better entertainment experience every day to each one of our 2.3 million subscribing homes through delivery of exclusive and inspiring programming across all genres, the world’s most popular channel brands, and investment in high quality local content. As constant champions of innovation we have brought customers the iQ personal digital recorder, Australia’s largest HD offering, Foxtel 3D, and more recently, the Foxtel Go App for iPad. Foxtel is owned by Telstra Corporation Limited ACN 051 775 556 (50%) and The News Corporation Ltd (50%). foxtel.com.au

Leading broadcast and multiscreen systems integrator Visual Unity has signed a new, two year contract with Czech TV to supply the technical services needed to operate its on-line and mobile service, iVysilani.

Czech TV has won a number of awards for its internet and mobile activities, including the prestigious 2011 Kristalova Lupa Award.

“Online consumption of Czech TV content has grown enormously in past years. Ivysilani.cz is a unique platform with more than 2592 days of video,� Pavlina Kvapilova, Executive Director of Czech Television´s New Media Division. “Enhancing our streaming infrastructure towards the highest quality, stability and user comfort which is available is a key factor for us to be able to serve this interest and react on changing lifestyle habits of our public.�

The new contract, which was awarded through a public tender process, will run until December 2014. Visual Unity’s vuMedia™ integrated content management and delivery platform is already used by iVysilani for content delivery, live streaming and Video on Demand services. Under the terms of the new contract Visual Unity will deliver various enhancements to the platform and supply additional back-end encoding, streaming, transcoding and media management services.

“Visual Unity has extensive experience of designing, delivering and integrating turnkey TV systems, broadcast-IT convergent and multiscreen solutions,� says Tomas Petru, President of Visual Unity. “In recent years we have undertaken a variety of successful projects for Czech TV, including the design and build of an eight-camera High Definition Outside Broadcast vehicle and the enhancement of the broadcaster’s online and mobile services, enabling it to deliver unprecedented coverage of the recent Olympic Games in London.�

The new contract will see Visual Unity increasing Czech TV’s live streaming capacity from 60Gbps to 88Gbps in 2013 and 110Gbps in 2014, to support the broadcaster’s 12 live streaming channels. Czech TV has also asked the company to increase storage capacity for its Video on Demand archive – a service Visual Unity has been providing since 2005. The broadcaster currently has a capacity of more than 70TByte and this will be expanded to over 160TB by the end of 2014.

“To implement the terms of this new contract we have developed a number of new features for our vuMedia Content Delivery Platform that will, of course, be available to all our customers,� Tomas Petru adds.

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About Visual Unity

Visual Unity is an international Systems Integrator bridging the gap between linear broadcast, IT and IPTV to help clients reach and engage audiences on any screen. Since 1991, the team has been designing and delivering turnkey broadcast and complex multiscreen solutions worldwide – from HD Outside Broadcast vehicles and major playout facilities to live internet streaming and Video on Demand services.
Visual Unity’s award-winning vuMediaTM platform helps broadcasters and content owners control how their brand and assets are managed and monetized in the multiscreen environment. Highly scalable and flexible, vuMediaTM delivers a cutting-edge live viewing experience on the web or any mobile or connected device, comprehensive VoD services, social network integration and secure robust content distribution – all of which can be deployed into existing workflows and business processes.
Visual Unity is based in Prague, London, Cologne, Moscow, Bratislava, Belgrade, Nairobi and Dubai. For further information, please visit www.visualunity.com

Jünger Audio’s internationally acclaimed Loudness control technology is making an impact in the Outside Broadcast market where it is helping broadcasters tackle surprise audio level changes right at the start of the production process.

Among the broadcasters who have recently turned to Jünger Audio for their ‘on the move’ loudness control is KTK in Kazakhstan, which has installed the company’s D*AP LM4 processors into its latest DSNG truck.

Built into a Toyota Land Cruiser by Lithuanian systems integrator TVC, KTK’s DSNG station features a SWE-DISH/Rockwell Collins Drive Away Antenna system, two Ericsson Voyager II multi-format integrated DSNG encoders and two fully redundant Ericsson RX8200 advanced modular receivers. This fully operational HD live production system connects with both TV studios and Outside Broadcast vehicles and is being used for live broadcasting.

Arman Shuraev, CEO of KTK, says: “We are very satisfied with the performance of Jünger Audio’s loudness control, which we have installed in our new DSNG vehicle. The units are proving very effective and easy to use.�

Christoph Harm, Jünger Audio’s International Sales Manager, says: “With more and more countries introducing legislation to control audio loudness, we are noticing increased demand for our LEVEL MAGIC-based loudness control products from those involved in the very first stages of content creation. Broadcasters using Outside Broadcast trucks and SNG vehicles to capture content for news, live and sporting events often have to deal with a wide variety of incoming audio sources. This can result in peak level and dynamic range fluctuations during the same programme, depending on the number of different audio sources being used. Balancing these so that viewers don’t have to rely on their remote controls to constantly adjust the volume is a major problem – and one that requires an effective and economic solution.�

Jünger Audio’s recently introduced D*AP range of Digital Audio Processors is proving particularly popular with the Outside Broadcast market because it is specifically designed to control audio loudness at the creation and editing stage. The D*AP series, which is available in two and four channel versions, can handle both analogue and digital (AES/EBU) audio with optional 3G/HD/SD-SDI I/O. The units fit neatly into a 19� rack, making them ideal for installation into OB trucks, and are controllable through a front panel or via a Web-based interface.

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About Jünger Audio
Established in Berlin in 1990, Jünger Audio specialises in the design and manufacture of high-quality digital audio dynamics processors. It has developed a unique range of digital processors that are designed to meet the demands of the professional audio market. All of its products are easy to operate and are developed and manufactured in-house, ensuring that the highest standards are maintained throughout. Its customers include many of the world’s top radio and TV broadcasters, IPTV providers, music recording studios and audio post production facilities. www.junger-audio.com

Adaptive Collaborated with Integrated Media Systems to Upgrade Rear Projection Screen System

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA — Adaptive Video Walls and Displays, a division of Adaptive Technologies Group and the premier provider of innovative wall-mountable, floor-standing, and flyable LCD video wall frames, teamed up with Integrated Media Systems (IMS), a leader in the design, integration, and support of presentation, videoconferencing and communication environments and their supporting systems, to install a 3×3 LCD video wall in the Orange County Water District’s (OCWD) boardroom. The new video wall, which was part of an overall audio/visual upgrade for the entire Fountain Valley, CA facility, was designed to replace the outdated projector and rear screen that the OCWD had been using for many years. more

NORTHRIDGE, California – Delivering world-class audio to the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City in California, Escondido, California-based Sound Image recently upgraded to Crown I-Tech HD power amplification and added the new V5 presets to the Amphitheatre’s HARMAN JBL VERTEC® line array system.

Originally built as an outdoor venue in 1972, the Gibson Amphitheatre was converted in 1982 and is now the third-largest indoor theater in California, seating approximately 6,000 people and has won several Pollstar awards as Venue of the Year. The Amphitheatre hosts a variety of events including concerts, performances, as well as occasional award shows. The existing PA system at the Gibson Amphitheatre includes 24 VERTEC VT4889 fullsize line array elements (12 per side) and 24 VT4880 fullsize arrayable subwoofers, with six hung per side plus six stacked per side. The system also features five VT4888 midsize line array elements on each side of the stage for additional outfill and two JBL DrivePack® VT4888DP enclosures per side for flown downfill.

The upgrade of the system with the V5 settings also included the addition of 54 Crown Audio I-Tech 12000 HD amplifiers. System control is provided via HARMAN’s HiQnet System Architect™ platform with an extensive custom control panel interface that was developed by Gary Sanguinet of Sound Image.

The new and improved V5 settings provide the Gibson Amphitheatre with a significant improvement in sound quality. This includes greater horizontal coverage, improved system response to equalization, and improved interaction between arrays. Paul Bauman, Senior Manager of Tour Sound at JBL Professional, commented, “The Gibson Amphitheatre has provided an important proof of performance test bed throughout the development of V4 and V5 presets and it has been a pleasure to work with front of house engineer George “Barney� Barnes, Mark Sidlow, Rick Merrill and the Sound Image team to really dial in the system—it’s a great-sounding venue that really highlights what is possible to achieve with VERTEC V5.�

“The biggest improvement for me is the increase in usable midrange information as well as vastly improved headroom,� Barnes said. “Being an ‘in house’ rig, protection is a must and great improvements have been made in that regard with no problems.�

The system has been greatly accepted by prestigious engineers and bands such as Rush, Jason Aldean, No Doubt, Dukes of September and Dream Theatre.

For more information on the Gibson Amphitheatre, please visit www.gibson-amphitheatre.net

For more information on Sound Image, please visit www.sound-image.com

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,900 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for year ended June 30, 2012.

No matter your musical predilection, there’s no denying that Barbra Streisand is one of the biggest talents in show biz. She is the epitome of élan and elegance, bringing a level of detail and sophistication to every aspect of her professional presence, from motion pictures to Broadway to concerts. As for the latter, the notoriously stage-shy artist’s performances have more

(Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

LOS ANGELES — The Book of Mormon, the recent Broadway smash that absolutely dominated the awards ceremonies by winning nine 2011 Tony Awards, five 2011 Drama Desk Awards and a 2012 Grammy Award, is now taking the show on the road with two North American touring productions, both of which are using KARA loudspeaker systems supplied by East Rutherford, NJ-based L-ACOUSTICS Certified Provider Masque Sound. more

NanoLumens® today announced a strategic alliance with São Paulo, Brazil-based technology integrator NC4U to support its rapidly growing Latin American market. The partnership was formed after the companies worked together on Latin America’s largest-ever digital signage installation project for São Paulo’s new Metro Line 4. According to Almir DeCarvalho, NanoLumens‘ VP of International Sales, this is an important step in the company’s expansion into international markets.

“Retailers, sports arenas, convention halls and public transportation hubs all over the world are recognizing the incredible benefits of NanoLumens LED displays,� DeCarvalho said, “and our new partnership with NC4U gives our technology the representation it deserves in the Latin American market. High quality digital signage installers and systems integrators will play an integral role in NanoLumens growth as they increasingly spec our products and help us grow public visibility.�

NC4U is a full-service company that specializes in digital signage applications, utilizing today’s most advanced display technologies to merge advertising, promotions, media, engineering and technology to meet every client’s digital signage and advertising needs.

According to NC4U’s Edgard Bueno Junior, NanoLumens’ LED display technology gives Latin American advertisers and business owners a unique and powerful new medium to deliver their digital messaging to the masses.

“In a fiercely competitive field like digital signage, NanoLumens has made a name for itself by offering a product that no other manufacturer can match. The NanoLumens displays we are installing at São Paulo’s new Metro Line 4 stations are the digital centerpiece of the project, and we’re excited to be a part of bringing the company’s breakthrough LED displays to the Latin American market.�

NanoLumens displays are extremely slim, ultra-lightweight, energy efficient, and feature a bright, seamless, high resolution picture quality that can be viewed from any angle throughout the display horizon without color shift or image distortion. The company’s patented display technology, which allows customers to select from 4mm up to 10mm pixel pitch (depending on the model), promises to transform the way marketers engage their customers in every type of trade show, retail, hospitality, stadium, arena, transportation and public event environment.

NanoLumens displays are designed and engineered with the environment in mind, and consume significantly less energy per square foot than conventional digital displays. Further emphasizing their commitment to eco-friendly technology, NanoLumens displays are composed of up to 50 percent reclaimed materials, and are completely recyclable. What’s more, some NanoLumens displays can be serviced from the front, making maintenance easier than ever before possible.

Designed and assembled in the United States, NanoLumens displays are offered in standard configurations as well as design-specific configurations to fit virtually any size, shape or curvature in both the NanoFlex line of flexible displays and the NanoSlim line of fixed frame displays.

The company’s technology has been named ‘Best LED Product’ of the year by Rental & Staging magazine in its 2012 INFOCOMM Product Awards Program, as well as being recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as a 2011 future-proof tech trend and cited by The Wall Street Journal in its 2010 Technology Innovations Awards. NanoLumens’ technology also received the 2011 Breakthrough Technology of the Year Award at the American Technology Awards. Digital Signage Magazine awarded the NanoLumens NanoFlex a 2011 DIGI Award for “Best New Display Device – Non-LCD or Plasma.�

About NC4U:
NC4U delivers turn-key digital signage solutions across all Brazilian territory, including content design and distribution, monitoring, media checking, installation, maintenance and technical support, either directly or through its clients in more than 200 retail stores and supermarkets. The company has more than 2,800 exhibition points installed throughout Brazil. NC4U specializes in POS digital signage solutions featuring full service interactive displays and content design, and software development including e-mail, social networks interfaces, printing, audience metering and voice recognition.

About NanoLumens:
Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, NanoLumens, Inc. (www.nanolumens.com) is a privately held corporation engaged in the research, product development, marketing and sales of unique flexible and fixed large-format LED display solutions in any size, shape, or curvature, that address a yawning technology gap in the $14 billion digital display industry. Since its founding in 2006, NanoLumens has built a portfolio of more than 20 international families of issued and filed patents on its flexible display technology that effectively address the commercial market void between relatively small flat-panel displays and huge, limited application LED boards. NanoLumens technology is not constrained by standard sizes and shapes, or by the weight, noise and cost issues traditionally associated with commercial LED products.

Calling it one of the industry’s most important strategic new opportunities for long-term growth, Stampede Presentation Products, Inc. today announced an expanded Unified Communications product marketing initiative and promoted two of its best seasoned executives to lead the sales effort. According to an announcement made today by Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly, effective immediately Peter Hurley and Kevin Welling assume the positions of, respectively, Eastern and Western Vice President of Sales of the Unified Communications Integration Group.

“Unified Communications is on the verge of becoming a major new growth opportunity for our dealers in virtually every vertical market, but in particular in corporate, government, and education,� Kelly stressed today. “Over the last two years, we have worked diligently with our manufacturing partners to assemble a veritable menu of unified communications product offerings, covering every need from dedicated enterprise-wide video conferencing systems to software based, PC-attached solutions. There is no company more ready to exploit the opportunities this new field offers. We have integrated Unified Communications throughout our organization and, today, I am announcing the sales team that will lead this group.�

Assuming the position of Eastern Vice President of Sales, Unified Communications Integration Group is Peter Hurley, who has served as a Stampede Director of Sales for the last seven years. Prior to joining Stampede, Hurley served as the Distribution Manager for Sharp Electronics from 2002-2005. Prior to this he was the Sales Manager for Ingram Micro, Inc. Hurley received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Business from Canisius College before earning a Certificate in Management Development from the Harvard Business School Club of Buffalo, New York.

Kevin Welling has also served as a Stampede Director of Sales from 2009-2012. Before joining Stampede, Welling served as Southwest Senior Territory Manager at Electrograph from 2006 through 2009. Prior to this, he was the Midwest Account Manager at Activelight from 2005-2006, the Midwest Distribution Manager at Projector Wholesale Supply from 1999-2005, and he worked as the Midwest Account Manager for Boxlight Corporation, after earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington.

According to Kelly, Stampede’s Unified Communications Sales Specialists will now report to Hurley and Welling, and Stampede is looking to expand the team in 2013, as the company expects that both its sales and the strength of its Unified Communications initiative will continue to grow.

About Stampede
Known for its value-added distribution, Amherst, New York-based Stampede is the leading distributor of presentation equipment including LCD /DLP projectors and flat panel displays. Stampede provides a complete range of brand name presentation equipment to a variety of audio/video, computer, and home theater resellers and integrators in the United States, Canada and Latin America. These resellers rely on Stampede for value-added services in distribution, marketing and solution- based sales. Stampede annually produces the “Big Book of AV,� an 816-page catalog and companion website (www.BigBookofAV.com) providing hundreds of sales, installation and spec tips for Stampede’s dealers in addition to product details on more than 5,000 SKUs. For more information on Stampede, log onto www.stampedeglobal.com.

Renowned Domed Chapel Gets Major Upgrade

Sinsinawa, WI – November 2012…  Sinsinawa is said to be a Native American term for “rattlesnake,” or “home of the young eagle.” But Sinsinawa Mound, Wisconsin is better known as the home of the Congregation of Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. Since 1847, more than 3,200 women have ascended the “Hill of Grace” to take their vows as Sinsinawa Dominicans. Today the village is still home to their worldwide headquarters, including more than 600 current and retired sisters of the Order.

In 1964 the campus, with its 1850s-vintage fort, was expanded with the construction of an 800-seat crown chapel, replete with massive 45-foot dome and transept wings. The building’s marble and plaster interior creates an acoustical environment that works magnificently to enhance the Order’s celebrated pipe organ. But as their needs have changed over time, those same acoustics have created a whole new set of challenges.

“It’s a beautiful facility that has always been renowned for its musical acoustics,” explains Scott Wright, President of Platteville, WI-based Lifeline Audio Video Technologies. “But in today’s world they’re using it more and more often for spoken word and piano-vocal recitals, and it simply wasn’t designed for that.”

“It’s a very large room, with a reverb time of more than four seconds,” adds Lifeline VP Mike Mair, “and as they’ve been doing more spoken word and piano-oriented services, vocal intelligibility has become more of an issue.”

To be fair, the room was not completely without sound reinforcement. But the original decades-old speaker system had never been adequate for the space. “The reverb time was markedly longer in the middle of the room, where the dome is higher,” Mair explains, “and as a result many of the sisters were seating themselves around the edges near the transepts, where they could hear a bit better, and leaving the center of the room pretty much empty.”

“They had talked to many contractors over the years in an attempt to find a solution, and everyone wanted to convince them to hang large speaker clusters and treat the room acoustically,” says Wright. “That just wasn’t going to happen. This is not your typical 1000-seat church – it’s a very special, very unique environment. Altering the aesthetics of the place was not open to discussion. It’s a beautiful, majestic space, and there’s simply no way you could hang a cluster of loudspeakers from this ceiling. From a structural perspective, it would have been problematic, to say the least. But beyond that, there’s simply no way they would have allowed it.”

One of the biggest challenges in designing an audio system for the space was the need to retain the room’s reverberant character. Acoustical treatment was simply not an option. “People from all over the world come to play organ recitals in this hall, and they were not willing to compromise the room’s acoustics as an organ recital facility,” says Wright. “But the majority of daily use for the space is really spoken word, and some choral singing with piano and organ. So we needed a very controllable, highly intelligible system that would address the room’s reverb issues without altering its character. The bottom line was, if we were going to achieve any intelligibility in that space at all, we had to control where the sound went.”

Lifeline’s solution was a simple and elegant one – a pair of Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC24-R digitally steerable array loudspeaker systems. The Iconyx arrays, mounted on either side of the altar, addressed virtually all of the chapel’s long-standing issues.

“We’ve used Iconyx in a number of previous projects, and have always been successful with them,” Wright says. “They are without a doubt our choice for a steerable array, and we feel they are the best one on the market.”

A demo was arranged via Carl Schwartz of rep firm Frequency Sales. “We arranged a demo for about 70 people,” says Wright. “They were definitely skeptical, since they’ve tried so many systems over the years. But we’ve done a few projects with them in the past, and the results have always been successful, so they trusted us.”

“We just plugged a mic directly into the Iconyx, with flat EQ,” says Mair. “The results were remarkable. You could see eyes popping open all over the room. They were just astounded.”

“I got up at the lectern and read a few things, and they still couldn’t believe what they were hearing,” says Wright. “At first, several of the sisters were saying, ‘oh, it’s just because he’s got a very booming, male voice.’ So we had Sister Priscilla Wood get up and do a reading, and they all said, ‘yes! That’s what she sounds like.’ After that, the next question was whether we could we get it installed by Thursday.”

A Biamp Nexia presentation mixer provides microphone inputs for their wireless, pulpit and choir mics. “They’re very happy with the simplicity of the system,” says Mair. “It’s very easy for them to run.”

“They had waited many, many years to find the right solution,” says Wright. “Essentially, they waited until technology caught up with their needs. Finally, with Iconyx, we found a solution that really worked for them. They weren’t looking for a minor improvement; they were looking for a night-and-day difference. And that’s exactly what they got.”

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Headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California, Renkus-Heinz, Inc. is the worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of audio operations networks, digitally steerable arrays, powered and non-powered loudspeakers, system specific electronics and fully integrated Reference Point Array systems.