Military simulation show highlights renewed focus on raising performance and reducing cost of ownership.

Norway’s projectiondesign® returns to the ITEC Defence, Training, Simulation and Education show this year with the most comprehensive line-up of products it has ever offered to the defence training and simulation market.

FS33 IR makes its debut
Making its worldwide debut at ExCeL, London from 22-24 May is the FS33 IR, the company’s latest LED-illuminated projector to stimulate Night Vision Goggles (NVG) for unrivalled simulated night-time vision. Built around the manufacturer’s ReaLED™ solid-state illumination platform, the FS33 IR adds a fourth LED to the conventional red, green and blue light sources, emitting infra-red light beyond the range visible to the human eye. This produces brighter night-vision imagery when stimulated by NVGs and provides a completely constant light output over time, eliminating the need for recalibration, reducing the maintenance and total cost of ownership to an absolute minimum.

The FS33 IR offers a brightness of unprecedented 1200 ANSI lumens, being by far the brightest projector available that’s capable of realistically visualising night-time and limited visibility scenario, visible day-time or pitch black scenarios from one single channel input. The FS33 IR is optimised for NVGs of all generations, including Generation 3 and Generation 4, as well as versions using specific IR stimuli.

FL35 ReaLEDâ„¢ line-up of LED projectors
projectiondesign now offer the FL35 ReaLED illumination projectors in three resolution variants (WQXGA, WUXGA and 1080p). The FL35 wqxga is the world’s highest-resolution LED projector and on the projectiondesign stand at ITEC 2012, it will be demonstrated in a breathtaking immersive dome display. Offering 100,000 hours of typical service life and double the brightness of projectiondesign’s previous LED models, the FL35 enables the deployment of higher acuity systems and reduced channel counts, making it an ideal visual platform for multi-channel simulation environments.

Immersive displays and breathtaking images
projectiondesign will be showing their F35 AS3D high-resolution active stereoscopic 3D projector in a maritime training and simulation scenario. The F35 AS3D projector will be integrated with 3D submarine content provided by TechViz and motion capture and systems from Vicon.

Additionally, projectiondesign’s F82 sx+ projectors will be integrated to showcase command and control monitoring. SXGA+ resolution users of systems that require 4:3 or closer to 1:1 aspect ratios optimise the usage of pixels. SXGA+ resolution has traditionally been hard to find in three-chip projection. It is particularly useful in simulation and training to address the burgeoning update market where many manufacturers’ legacy projectors require replacement due to age.

ITEC show wide support
As well as taking its own stand, projectiondesign is supporting a number of partners at ITEC, among them Simulation Displays, a division of Paradigm AV Ltd (Stand L100) – all of whom will use the manufacturer’s projectors as part of real-world simulation and training solutions. projectiondesign will also support the ITEC event with the provision of F12 projectors for the ITEC Keynote Welcome Speech held in the Platinum Suite, and breakout conference tracks in the North Gallery Rooms. All projectors on the projectiondesign booth will be displayed using the finest screens from Projecta.

Innovation Showcase and ITEC show hospitality
Additionally, on Wednesday 23 May as part of the ITEC Innovation Showcase, Håkon Andersen, projectiondesign’s Visual Simulation Specialist for APAC and EMEA, will present a paper titled ‘Solid State LED Projection For Full Mission Simulators’ – highlighting the end-user benefits of the latest LED technologies and applications.

On the same day, projectiondesign will participate in the exhibitor hospitality evening, serving traditional Norwegian delicacies and entertainment to ITEC attendees.

Maria Dahl Aagaard, Product Marketing Manager, projectiondesign, enthuses: “ITEC has always been a great platform from which to launch new initiatives in the military training and simulation space, and we are confident that our solutions will again be well-received by this demanding but receptive audience.

“We are looking forward to three days of exacting product demonstrations, productive partner initiatives, and informed conversations with attendees keen to learn more about how projectiondesign’s visual technology know-how can offer them new simulation solutions while simultaneously reducing their operating costs.�

projectiondesign will be on Stand H110 at ITEC from 22-24 May 2012 at the ExCel in London, UK.

Less is more for the Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas in San Diego, where Christie Managed Services has implemented cost effective boothless projection systems, powered by low-maintenance Christie digital cinema projectors, the most powerful and most trusted name for exhibitors joining the digital revolution. Boothless systems eliminate the need for traditional projectionist booth space and require no human operator.

Located in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center in Carmel Valley, Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas features two traditional auditoriums and six with boothless projection systems, seating up to 74 guests, 3D and surround sound technologies, reserved seating options, and high back reclining leather chairs for the ultimate in viewing comfort. Designed and installed by Christie Managed Services as part of a complete customized solution, the boothless systems free up space for an additional row of seating that would normally have been taken up by the projection booths. Christie provided an all-inclusive, turnkey solution for a special lift system that enables the Christie CP2220 DLP Cinema® projectors to be positioned out of the way during normal operation and lowered for maintenance. The Managed Services Team at Christie also installed the audio system, screens, processing equipments, lighting, drapes, library management systems, playback and projection systems, in addition to designing and deploying the boothless capability. Recently, an additional six auditoriums were installed with Christie boothless projection systems at the Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas La Costa location in Carlsbad.

“While we are South America’s largest theater chain, this is our first entry into the U.S. market, and it was critical that every aspect of our patrons’ movie-viewing experience was as perfect as possible,� said Carlos Wellman, managing director of Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas. “We selected Christie because they bring more than 80 years in the exhibition industry, and perfectly understand the old-world traditions of the finest movie houses and the next generation of digital technology to meet the sophisticated demands of today’s moviegoers.�

Matthew Heyman, a Cinépolis consultant on this project added, “Christie’s boothless lifts create the space for Cinépolis to transform its theaters into a unique movie-going experience. These boothless concepts, like the ones Christie designs and installs, are transforming the digital cinema environment.�

“Exhibitors are looking for solutions that enable them to reduce construction costs, while offering the design flexibility to transform older facilities to the look and feel of the luxury cinema,� explained Sean James, vice president of Managed Services for Christie. “Our customers need the benefit of technology without the complexity of integration or the burden of support to accomplish their design and cost reduction goals. We designed and built boothless systems that provide the right environment for the projector and isolate the audience from the noise and heat the projector and server generate while allowing the projection booth to be removed.�

Christie Managed Services provides end-to-end solutions for projection and audio in the cinema environment as well as digital signage solutions for theater lobbies. It also offers service packages that provide exhibitors with support that range from 24/7/365 remote monitoring and technical phone support to on-site preventative maintenance/emergency service and fast, local access to spare parts centrally coordinated from Christie’s Network Operations Center.

Cinépolis patrons agree that the theater chain got everything right. They rave about the ultra-comfortable high-back recliners and ushers that serve food and alcohol right at their seats in the 21+ theaters. The recliners also have buttons to call for additional service, and special menus are offered to match the theme of the movie.

CinemaCon attendees can view a video that includes the boothless concept at the Christie booth #2111, and speak with a representative of the Christie Managed Services team.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – With more than 1,500 television productions per year including The Voice, The Winner Is, F-1 Silverstone and DWDD, DutchView is the leading broadcaster in the Netherlands. Whether recording these programs in one of its 14 studios or on location, DutchView often relies on HARMAN’s Studer digital consoles for high-quality sound mixing.

In 2007, DutchView equipped its DV2 OB van with a Studer Vista 8 for medium-sized productions. In 2010, DutchView added a Studer Vista 5 console at its Westergas Fabriek studio, from which two of the Netherlands’ most popular primetime daily talk shows are broadcast.

In 2011, Heynen bv (Studer’s supplier in the Netherlands) and DutchView came to an agreement for the upcoming years regarding the delivery of Studer digital mixing consoles. The choice for Studer was based on good pricing and a strong brand, but most of all it was based on DutchView’s positive experiences with its previous Studer Vista consoles. In February, DutchView outfitted its new DV8 OB van with a 62-fader Vista 9 console-one of three Vista consoles it plans to add to its new OB vans in the near future.

The brand-new DV8 OB van is designed to serve a wide variety of customers in both low and high-end productions. DutchView is very pleased with the routing and layering capabilities of Studer digital consoles, especially in combination with providing the highest possible sound quality levels for any digital console. DutchView also finds the intuitive “analogue approach” of Vista consoles very attractive.

With 62 faders, DutchView is able to have all of its important sources directly on the faders, including EQ, dynamics and panning. In combination with FaderGlow and Vistonics(tm), this gives most audio engineers the ability to work in an intuitive and familiar manner. This is crucial when preparation time is getting shorter by the day.

Another advantage of the Vista 9 is its ability to handle a lot of different feeds, which is needed for huge events like Domino Day, where 30 receivers and 140 microphones were used. In these cases, the Studer compact stage box is also a good asset, especially for controlling the preamps directly from the desk surface.

The audio section in the OB van is very spacious, providing enough room for a professional 5.1 surround sound system. It even provides plenty of room for extra individuals, such as music directors, to sit comfortably. DutchView also adheres to the Loudness Recommendation EBU 128. “Thanks to the Vista 9, the DV8 OB van is very versatile and able to cover almost all types of broadcasts, including sports, festivals, entertainment, music or even a combination of these,” said Peter Slot of DutchView. “In many cases, this will even save us from needing several OB’s on the road to do just one job.”

DutchView is very involved in Sustainable Broadcasting. By implementing all kinds of different innovative solutions the DV8 uses up to 40 percent less energy than comparable OB vans. This is possible by using more fibre optics instead of copper, a low emission engine, a balanced cooling system and the use of LED lightning. In turn, DutchView is pleased that both Heynen bv and Studer share the company’s philosophy on Sustainable Broadcasting to help maintain the highest standards of quality and environmental responsibility.

At this moment, Studer is already building a second Vista 9 for the DV9 OB van, which will be identical to the DV8. It is expected to hit the road sometime in the second half of 2012. With these new OB vans and the intensive technical support of both Heynen and Studer, DutchView will continue its leading trend-setting role in the Dutch broadcast landscape.

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 13,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.2 billion for twelve months ending December 31, 2011.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – SRG SSR, the Swiss public radio and television broadcaster, has taken delivery of three new Studer OnAir 1500 12-channel, 6-fader consoles. These are designed to provide a flexible, compact solution for radio broadcasting and production.

Purchased from Dr.W.A.Günther Distribution, the HARMAN Professional distributor for Switzerland, two of the desks will be used in the TV studios in the Media Centre of the Swiss Parliament building in Berne, while the third will be used for mobile/location work-such as election nights or other major events.

Both desks are equipped with a MADI card and connected to the central Nexus TV audio router over a MADI fibre cable, to give them access to most of the audio sources in the house. Replacing two older consoles they are working alongside nine OnAir 3000 and two OnAir 2500 consoles in the Media Centre’s Studer armory-part of a complement of 14 Studer digital audio mixing consoles specified when the Media Centre was originally built in mid-2006.

This production hub forms part of SRG SSR National Services. According to Broadcast Systems Engineer, Werner Isch, these studios produce radio and television news broadcasts from Parliament, along with local news from the region of Berne, Freiburg and Wallis, for five enterprise units-Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF), Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), Radiotelevisione Svizzera (RSI), Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR) and Swissinfo.

“In other words,” Isch said, “we are house broadcasters for the Swiss Parliament. The Federal Parliament Media Centre records all debates in the National Council and theCouncil of States (the two houses of Parliament). Recordings can be followed live when Parliament is in session, while in addition to the activities of the executive and the legislature, SRG SSR provides coverage of 400 governmental press conferences annually.”

Located within the Media Centre are a large 10-camera, 230-square-meter TV studio and three small single-camera Duplex studios, dealing with everything from live news to pre-production of MPs’ speeches. The new OnAir 1500 consoles in Duplex studios 1 and 2 follow a third, larger Duplex studio, built in 2010, which houses a Studer OnAir 2500.

Isch added that it had been logical to upgrade with the Studer platform, since the 80-year-old organisation has worked with fellow Swiss manufacturers for at least half of that period.

The OnAir 1500 consoles also boast a similar operating concept as the OnAir 2500 and OnAir 3000, which provided a further compelling reason for this latest purchase. “We needed a 6-fader console with a small footprint that would be easy to use for both live and pre-production. Last year we tested a prototype of the OnAir 1500-and found the quality to be excellent,” he said.

The incoming and outgoing feeds from Duplex 1 and 2 are transmitted over the fibre network and the Nexus audio router to the OnAir 1500 consoles. Other inputs include two microphones, servers and telephone lines (ISDN codec).

“All the users are happy with this purchase,” Isch concluded. “The OnAir 1500 consoles are easy to use and offer a good price/performance ratio.”

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 13,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.2 billion for twelve months ending December 31, 2011.

Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 – Fairlight announced today the release of Solo, a new mouse-based editing option for its Dream software.

Extending upon Fairlight’s traditional customised control surface, Fairlight’s release of Solo continues the company strategy to broaden its product range.

“The release of Solo is in direct response to customer requests to extend the functionality of existing Fairlight systems and providing a lower cost prep-station utility while preserving the features and reliability of the Dream software” says CTO, Tino Fibaek.

Fibaek notes that Solo’s operation will be familiar to users of other audio production systems, allowing them an easy migration path to Fairlight technology. GUI options include dual-screen operation with dedicated editing and mixing, or a single integrated screen with access to all vital production tools including editing, video, database, mixing and monitor controls.

Solo software is supplied with the Fairlight FPGA based CC-1 engine and SX range of I/O cards starting from around $4,000, and can be optioned up to 192 tracks.

Fibaek said “Solo will lower the entry price for customers to the world of Fairlight technology, with the guarantee that Fairlight’s popular Xynergi controller or EVO production console can be added with no cost penalty at a later date”.

Solo will debut at NAB 2012 on the Fairlight booth, SL14305.

About Fairlight

Fairlight is an Australian company with over 30 years experience in media production systems. The company designs and manufactures professional video and audio recording, editing and mixing systems offering both desktop, console and native user environments.

Fairlight has always been at the leading edge of development pioneering 3D sound and customised control surfaces. Fairlight systems are acknowledged by industry leaders as being the fastest control surfaces available and have received numerous awards over the years including two Scientific and Technical Academy Awards.

Fairlight products include the EVO mixing console, Xynergi desktop controller, Pyxis Video editor and Crystal Core FPGA accelerator.

For more information, contact Tino Fibaek, Chief Technical Officer.
Phone: +61 408 695 552.
Email: tino@fairlightau.com.

Sydney, Australia, Wednesday April 11th, 2012 – Fairlight announced today the release of three versions of its Solo mouse-based editing program for educational and evaluation purposes.

* Solo.edu – a package for use in educational facilities and for students.
* Solo.prep – a companion product for Fairlight owners to prepare offline editing and tracklay.
* Solo.eval – an opportunity to sample the Fairlight product range natively.

While Fairlight post production software relies on its FPGA based Crystal Core accelerator card, the free versions of Solo use an emulation of the Crystal Core running on the host processor. “The features will be identical to that of Crystal Core based systems, but on a limited scale in terms of tracks and mixing capability” says CTO, Tino Fibaek.

Fibaek adds, “Solo provides a familiar native operating environment to other audio production systems while using the power of Fairlight’s Dream operating system. GUI options include dual-screen operation with dedicated editing/mixing, or a single integrated screen with access to all vital production tools including editing, video, database, mixing and monitor controls.”

As parts of Fairlight’s support of industry training, educational institutions offering courses in media production will be provided with free copies of Solo.edu on request. New and existing Fairlight owners will be entitled to a free copy of Solo.prep for each system owned.

Solo will debut at NAB 2012 on the Fairlight booth, SL14305, and will be available soon on Fairlight’s website.

About Fairlight

Fairlight is an Australian company with over 30 years experience in media production systems. The company designs and manufactures professional video and audio recording, editing and mixing systems offering both desktop, console and native user environments.

Fairlight has always been at the leading edge of development pioneering 3D sound and customised control surfaces. Fairlight systems are acknowledged by industry leaders as being the fastest control surfaces available and have received numerous awards over the years including two Scientific and Technical Academy Awards.

Fairlight products include the EVO mixing console, Xynergi desktop controller, Pyxis Video editor and Crystal Core FPGA accelerator.

For more information, contact Tino Fibaek, Chief Technical Officer.
Phone: +61 408 695 552.
Email: tino@fairlightau.com

Las Vegas, NV – April 17, 2012 – Demonstrating comprehensive proof of concept of its innovation-leading media transcoding, transfer, storage management and collaboration platform, Brevity today announced sales to international post-production house, Creative Group. Since fall 2011, Creative Group has successfully deployed Brevity’s V2 solution, securing massive workflow gains for transport and transcode of sports highlights, TV programs and promotions of HD content.

“Brevity’s breakthrough technology is a game changer, said Joe Avallone, President of Creative Group. “The ability to provide simultaneous transport and transcode enables us to offer our clients significant improvements in file based workflow, shortening turnaround time and driving production efficiencies while ensuring very high quality.”

“I was completely amazed by Brevity, it’s truly the technology of the future,� said Kassie Caffiero, SVP of Post Production, Creative Group. “With Brevity, Creative Group is staying ahead of the curve and efficiently adapting to demanding workflows and growing complexities in the industry. We’ve used Brevity as a vehicle for clients to enter a new regime, opening up a whole new way of providing services.�

One major sports network found Brevity extremely convenient, as they were able to start all of their sessions earlier, which allowed for more creativity, and more relaxed deadlines.
“Our goal is to eliminate many of the commercial, creative and technology challenges associated with management and distribution of diverse media files and formats,� said Jake Bronstein, CEO, Brevity. “Creative Group was one of the first to implement Brevity, to really understand how they could create a fundamental workflow change, and we can’t be happier with the impact it’s had for them and their clients.�

Brevity V3, debuting at NAB 2012, is a breakthrough technology that for the first time delivers simultaneous transcoding and highly accelerated transport of high-resolution video as an integrated process on any network. V3 delivers this capability through a Web based enterprise video management solution that utilizes automated project-driven workflows, advanced algorithms, virtual storage, Web-based interfaces, and teraflops of computing power.

Brevity is based in New York City and has a sales office in Los Angeles and a development office in the Portland, Oregon area. Brevity will be located at booth SL13316 at NAB from April 16, 2012 to April 19, 2012.

ABOUT BREVITY
Brevity provides breakthrough technology that offers for the first time the ability to simultaneous transcode while transporting video at incredibly fast speeds- over any network- Internet, fiber, or data satellite. Founded in 2010 by Jacob Bronstein and Abdul Sulieman, Brevity transforms media production and distribution workflows and redefines the time, cost, and efficiency required to support M&E operations. Brevity is working with leading networks, studios, content providers, sports teams, and production houses to redefine media production and distribution around the world. For more information please visit us at www.brevityv.com or follow us @BrevityV.

ABOUT CREATIVE GROUP
Creative Group is the largest independent supplier of high definition production and post production services in New York City. For more information please visit us at www.creativegroup.tv.

MATRIX Cheese Plate Makes Official NAB Debut

LAS VEGAS, APRIL 17, 2012—Anton/Bauer, part of Vitec Videocom, a Vitec Group company, and a premier global provider of batteries, chargers, lighting and other mobile power systems for the professional broadcast, video and film industries, will demonstrate the advanced capabilities of its power solutions to U.S. broadcast and video professionals at the 2012 NAB Show (Booth C7032). Anton/Bauer will showcase the MATRIX Cheese Plate, a new mounting plate that can be used with the company’s Gold Mount Solutions for the Sony PMW-F3 camera and NEX-FS-100; Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, EOS 60D Digital SLR camera and the EOS C300; Panasonic AG-AF100 series professional HD camera and RED EPIC digital cinema camera.

The MATRIX Cheese Plate mounts directly on 15-mm or 19-mm rod systems, allowing for easy mounting for Gold Mounts on a variety of cameras including:

• Sony F3 – QRC-DUAL PT: Gold Mount with four-pin XLR and two PowerTap outputs for the Sony F3. Also mounts directly to the AJA Ki Pro Mini.
• Sony NEX-FS-100 – FGM-S: 7 1/4 Gold Mount
• Canon 5D, 7D and 60D – QR-DLSR: 7 1/4 Gold Mount
• Canon EOS C300 – QRC-CA-940: 7/14 Gold Mount that provides 7.2V power to the camera via DC connector. Offers three PowerTap outputs for multiple accessories
• Panasonic AG-AF100 – QR-VBG: 7 1/4 Gold Mount adapter
• Red EPIC – QRC-EPIC: Exclusive features include three outputs—a hard-wired cabled six-pin LEMO connector for power as well as two PowerTap connectors for accessories.

These Gold Mount solutions can also be used on support rigs such as Cinevate, Zacuto, Shape, Redrock Micro and Genus, among others, and in some cases, a pouch configuration. For example, the Anton/Bauer QR-PD/HDV is the recommended pouch style adapter for the Sony NEX-FS-100.

“Anton/Bauer remains successful due to our continued commitment to bringing innovative products to market for today’s professionals,� says Shin Minowa, vice president of marketing and business development. “We are proud to showcase our innovative power solutions and accessories for the industry’s top cameras to NAB attendees—helping to provide seamless power, while ensuring future compatibility.�

About Anton/Bauer
Anton/Bauer is recognized as the world’s innovator and a premier provider of batteries, chargers, lighting and other key mobile power systems for the professional broadcast, video and film industries. Based in the United States in Shelton, CT with offices in Europe and Asia, Anton/Bauer was established in 1970 and has expanded its product offerings to include many signature lines such as its leading Gold Mount system, InterActive chargers and Logic Series batteries such as the HyTRON 50, 100 and 140, and DIONIC 90, 160, HC and HCX. Their products are compatible with every camera brand on the market today. Other Anton/Bauer high performance products include the Ultralight 2, ElipZ, CINE VCLX and the Tandem 150 Modular Charging System. Their superior-quality products have become an industry standard. For more information on Anton/Bauer, visit www.antonbauer.com.

About Vitec Videocom
Vitec Videocom brings together some of the most respected, most innovative and most sought-after brands in the industry: Anton/Bauer, Autoscript, Litepanels, OConnor, Petrol, Sachtler, Vinten and Vinten Radamec. It acts as an endorsing brand for these market-leading broadcast, film and pro video products, encouraging multi-brand system sales and simplifying the way that customers worldwide do business.

Vitec Videocom is an operating division within the Vitec Group, an international business serving customers in the broadcast, photographic and military aerospace and government markets. Vitec is based on strong, well known, premium brands on which its customers rely on worldwide.

Vitec Videocom – innovative products around the camera.

Natural History Museum

Twice the size of the old galleries, the recently-opened 14,000 square-foot Dinosaur Hall displays specimens – including the world’s only T. rex growth series of baby, juvenile and adult skeletons – mounted on unique platforms and preserved and articulated using modern methods. The skylit L-shaped Hall is flooded with natural light; a glass-sided mezzanine runs along the short side of the L where additional wall-mounted exhibits reveal more about the amazing creatures and show what it’s like to find fossils in the field and study them in the lab. Electrosonic was responsible for the design, engineering, fabrication, installation and programming of the Hall’s audio, video and interactive displays.

Electrosonic’s Design Consulting team was approached by museum project manager Jennifer Morgan and asked to develop an AV system design that would subtly support the new interpretive material. “In the Hall, the dinosaurs are the stars. You don’t want to compete with the T. rex – people are there to see the bones,” says Electrosonic design consultant Steve Coe. “The museum was looking for small, high-quality systems, not over-the-top AV.”

Electrosonic project manager Steve Calver explains that “each touchscreen panel in the hall is implemented in a slightly different way to support its exhibit. Some stand alone, some are built into the wall or embedded into the bases of the platforms. Each proved a challenge in terms of where to locate the equipment required for it.”

“The AV interactives for the dinosaur specimens are integrated into the bases that support them,” says Steve Coe. Electrosonic was charged with mounting rugged ELO touchscreens into the bases’ access panels so visitors can review graphic panels and interactive videos created by Unified Field to learn more about the bones.

Electrosonic was also challenged to build the interactive computers into the bases, which minimized the use of extenders that would have been required if they were located in the third-floor equipment room. “It was more efficient and reliable to hide the content players in the exhibit than position them in a remote location,” says Coe.

When visitors walk past the Triceratops and the 68-foot Mamenchisaurus in the new Hall, they encounter a 15-foot wide front projection screen suspended about nine feet above the floor. Its looped “Investigating Dinosaurs” video describes the hunt for the prehistoric creatures. Electrosonic chose a Christie HD10K-M series projector for the display with Medialon playback and fiber optic connections from the players to the projector. A pair of Renkus-Heinz speakers is located behind the screen.

“The challenge for this display was how to project from the ceiling-mounted Christie over the neck of the Mamenchisaurus and onto the other wall,” says Coe. “It was difficult to figure out, and we only cleared the neck by a few inches.”

Below the projection is a 43-foot Fossil Wall showcasing 100 diverse dinosaur specimens. Two ELO touchscreen kiosks from Electrosonic were positioned in front of the wall to allow visitors to explore each bone and zoom in and rotate some of them 360 degrees on the screen.

A five-screen ribbon of 40-inch Samsung LCD monitors on another wall is hung at head height. Five Medialon MIP HD players in the equipment room are synced together to display edge-blended content across the screens or five discrete images.

The mezzanine level features a number of exhibits with AV components. One display about the structure of dinosaur heads has an interactive touchscreen in its base that enables visitors to simulate dinosaur calls thanks to a compact, flat Innovox full-range speaker. “Its low-end range is different from speakers we specify for dialogue,” says Steve Calver. “The dinosaur calls, which scientists can approximate based on the way air travels through the skull, were in a much lower range than normal animals.”

A multi-touch screen, which can handle 32 simultaneous touches, is positioned alongside an exhibit of excavation tools. Its table-style configuration, made by CyberTouch with PQ Labs’ infrared touch technology, allows groups of kids to assemble and play a game that simulates a dinosaur excavation. Several wall-mounted 46-inch Samsung LCDs with ceiling speakers display content supporting nearby exhibits.

Electrosonic supplied Dell computers for the interactives and implemented BSS London BLU audio signal processing; Medialon Showmaster show control connects to all AV points.

The exhibit design was by Evidence Design. Fabrication of the entire exhibit was awarded to Lexington Design & Fabrication, whom Electrosonic was contracted with and has worked with on many projects over the years. The project manager for Lexington was Howard Smith. All interactive media programs were created by Unified Field, another firm whom Electrosonic has a strong working relationship with.

Although Electrosonic Design Consulting became involved in Dinosaur Hall in August 2010, fabrication and equipment orders didn’t begin until April 2011 for the Hall’s July opening. “The big challenge was working with other vendors on the sequence of events so we knew what equipment to bring on site,” recalls Calver. “So much of what we did integrated to what was designed and fabricated in place. We needed to be able to evolve with the exhibits as they were built.” In the end, a successful integration was realized due to thorough design documentation and an experienced working relationship among Electrosonic, Lexington and Unified Field.

Steve Coe reports that the new Dinosaur Hall has been “packed” with visitors and that there are long queues to get in.

Electrosonic’s Peter Alexander served as project engineer for the Dinosaur Hall ensuring that everything was well coordinated on site; he also handled Medialon programming and calibrated the touch panels.

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

Fort Myers, FL, April 2012… For sunbirds and residents of Arizona, Florida and other warm-weather environs, baseball’s spring training is a special treat. It’s a time to catch an intimate pre-season game and view a team’s favorite and newest players, in a casual, up-close and personal environment.

Boston Red Sox fans are particularly pleased these days, thanks to the opening of the new Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers, Florida. The 11,000-capacity venue is a striking bit of architecture that affords great views from virtually every seat in the house, and excellent sound thanks to a high-end audio system that includes a selection of Community WET and R-Series weather-resistant loudspeakers. The audio system, designed by WJHW’s Gary White and installed by Jupiter, FL-based Peerson Audio, was a relatively routine project, though as Peerson’s President Allen Peerson explains, the new venue’s architecture presented a few minor challenges.

“The asymmetrical roof covering the seating areas is ornamental, rather than structural,” he says. “It’s designed to be a sun shade. So we had to go above the roof and rig the loudspeakers to the structural steel instead. That meant working off the warning track with a lift to install them 80 to 85 feet high.”

Needless to say, that height also affects coverage patterns, all the more critical in spring training venues. “Unlike modern major league stadiums, spring training parks are typically located fairly close to residential areas,” says Peerson. “Achieving a tight coverage pattern is important in keeping the sound away from neighboring homes, and the Community WET Series offers an excellent coverage pattern. We did a pretty good job of it – even out in the parking lot, it’s pretty quiet.”

Audio for the main covered seating area is provided by a selection of 39 WET W2-228T loudspeakers, with a single R1-66Z and R2-52Z loudspeaker firing out into the bleachers and berm areas. Crown CTs-series amplification powers the system, and Biamp Audia units handle system drive and processing.

“South Florida gets quite a bit of extreme weather, including wind, rain and monsoons,” says Peerson. “The WET and R-Series loudspeakers also offer excellent weather resistance, making them an excellent choice for this project.”

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Community Professional Loudspeakers has been a leading supplier of professional sound systems since 1968. Headquartered in Chester, Pennsylvania, Community distributes its products to over fifty countries on six continents. Visit www.communitypro.com for more information.