Avolites Ai RX8 Drives CACG Opening Ceremony
The 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games (CACG) kicked off with a spectacular Opening Ceremony at Barranquilla’s Roberto Meléndez Stadium, featuring projection mapped visuals to the stadium pitch and huge LED screens using Avolites Ai RX8 servers.
The Opening Ceremony’s most famous performer was Latin superstar Shakira, who was born in the Games’ host city.
During the ceremony, the 47,000-capacity crowd experienced a video concept based on a story of time travel from the future to the present, offering a unique perspective of Barranquilla, which highlighted local culture, folklore and its vibrant music scene. The Opening Ceremony was produced by Victor Ariza from Performa SAS. Miguel Carrillo from Foro IQ designed the stages.
The main stage was backed by video-mapped content, displayed on a 664sqm LED screen.
“We needed to manage a lot of pixels for this project, six outputs for mapping and six outputs for LED screens, DMX and SMPTE control, and direct SDI outputs,” said Victor. “We needed a server that had all of these things, and features like the option to quickly warp the geometry of the outputs – and be robust and trustworthy.
“But perhaps most importantly, we were looking for customer service and support. Machines are machines – it’s the people that define a brand’s success.”
Fernando Albanés served as Technical Director for Performa: “We could find all the technical specifications we required in the Ai RX8 and SDI output card. The RX8 was the heart of the video system - a machine that you can trust is robust and reliable and has everything that you need to do a great show.
“But Victor is correct, when we started to work on this project, we dealt with Avolites’ South American Sales Engineer, Francisco Yáñez Valdivia, Koy Neminathan at Avolites’ London office, and Javier Pastor, and it was amazing. Everything was fluid, we had training on-site and support for the opening. Avolites’ Maciej ‘Magic’ Siedlecki was in charge of this part and it really was great to have him on board. I would like to thank Avolites, Performa SAS and Foro IQ for their help in making a great show.”
Nearly 6,000 athletes participated in the CACG, across 40 sports and 470 events.
A statement from the Games’ organisers said: "These Central American and Caribbean Games will leave a valuable legacy for Barranquilla… the high-class sports venues built the wonderful Opening Ceremony that Víctor Ariza's team prepared infrastructure and jobs.”
AT&T Stadium Gets Closer to the Action with UHD Replays
Ahead of the 2018 NFL season, AT&T Stadium – the home of Dallas Cowboys – has installed three new EVS Broadcast Equipment XT4K live production servers.
Sitting alongside several other EVS products already in place, the new servers have been implemented into one of the stadium’s three control rooms, which becomes the main replay hub during Cowboys home games. They will be used to create both HD- and UHD-resolution replays and as the main recording device for all events taking place inside the 100,000-person capacity venue.
Two EVS Broadcast Equipment XT4Ks will be used for the production and output of HD replays inside the stadium while the third will be in a UHD-4K configuration. This server will be used by the Cowboys’ production team to create higher-resolution replays that are zoomed in on using EVS’ Emmy award-winning Epsio Zoom application. Operators using the server’s LSM controller zoom into the replay to produce more in-depth, closer angles of the action inside the stadium.
Dwin Towell, the Dallas Cowboys’ Director of Broadcast Engineering, said: “Whether it’s part of a controversial play or to give fans a better look at what’s happening on the line of scrimmage, using Epsio Zoom to make the most of higher-resolution content brings a higher level of in-stadium engagement.
“For the HD replays, we also use reverse camera angles that correspond to each side of the in-stadium display. We do this because if a fan is sitting on one side of the stadium, it’s very jarring to see replays where player movements are going in the opposite direction.”
This attention to detail for fans requires a mirrored angle for every camera put in place by the production team. Replays are created either from 12 live camera feeds from the mobile production units on site or from the team’s 14 in-stadium cameras – four of which are UHD-4K – and played out to both sides of the stadium’s display, a Guinness World Record holder for the World's Largest High-Definition Video Display.
The EVS Broadcast Equipment XT4K servers have replaced existing EVS XT2+ servers which were installed inside the stadium that’s now affectionately known by fans as Jerryworld, when it opened in 2009. As well as to produce live in-stadium replays at the more than 100 live events each year, including the ten Cowboys home games of the NFL season, the servers are used as the production control room’s main recording devices.
While the servers record the action, the control room’s upgraded IPDirector production asset management system will be used to manage media throughout the live workflow. The team also has an LSM Connect application in place, which is used to create playlists of the in-game highlights on the fly for playout.
“We’ve always been an EVS house and so when it came time to upgrade our facilities, we knew it would be easy to transition to new solutions and that those systems would quickly improve the functionality inside the control room,” added Dwin.
“Using EVS equipment means we always have access to a pool of EVS operators and know the technology will continue working hard, all the time. At the end of the day, we always go for top-of-the-line equipment at the Cowboys’ facilities. And that’s why we went with EVS.”
Operating at the same time as the in-stadium control room, the Dallas Cowboys also uses an EVS server and IPDirector workflow in the production and studio facilities at its world headquarters, The Star in Frisco. Content is transported from AT&T Stadium some 40 miles away, via fibre links, and is ingested by the server.
IPDirector is used to instantly access and exchange the content between the servers in The Star and those in the stadium on gameday so that the production teams can master, edit and output even more media to engage with the fans of America’s team.
Tottenham Hotspur Delays Spurs New Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur F.C has delayed the opening of its new stadium.
Following the release of the Premier League fixtures for the 2018/19 season, Spurs announced that, barring any significant issues with the final stages of stadium completion, the teams match against Liverpool on 15 September 2018 would be the first match in the new stadium. However, recent testing and commissioning have shown issues with critical safety systems.
Urgent follow-up meetings with Mace and the trade contractors are now taking place. The club has stated on its website it is “reviewing the situation and planned timetable to rectify and re-test, after which we shall be in a better position to outline a revised timetable.”
The delays created by these difficulties mean the club can no longer hold the necessary Test Events on 27 August and 1 September, which will now be rescheduled to take place ahead of any first official match at the new stadium in order to achieve a safety licence.
Tottenham Hotspur's upcoming Premier League matches against Liverpool (15 September 2018) and Cardiff City (6 October 2018) will be switched to Wembley, as will the NFL match scheduled for 14 October 2018.
Chairman, Daniel Levy, said: “We know this will be disappointing for all our season tickets holders, premium members and our fans worldwide. We appreciate the support our partner the NFL has shown since the extent of this issue became evident today. At the start of the project we asked for your support during what we knew would be a complex and challenging build and now we ask for your continued patience and forbearance.”
Mark Waller, NFL Executive Vice-President, International, added: “Everyone has been so excited about the prospect of playing in the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and I know all at the Club are very disappointed, but determined to clear this final hurdle. We totally understand the issue. We shall continue to work with them towards making our future games at Spurs a huge success. The new stadium will be an amazing venue for the NFL and we are very excited about our long-term partnership with Tottenham Hotspur.”
Both domestic and European cup game venues will be determined following discussions with the relevant organising bodies.
Azteca Stadium Boasts Meyer Sound CAL System First
Azteca Stadium (Estadio Azteca) adds to its list of notable distinctions, completing the largest installation of Meyer Sound CAL digital beam steering column array loudspeakers; making it the first stadium to deploy the latest in AVB/TSN stadium networking technology.
The distributed system of 69 loudspeakers projects highly intelligible, full-bandwidth voice announcements, incidental music, and soundtracks for videos on the Panasonic screens throughout the vast stadium bowl.The advanced beam steering technology built into CAL allowed Meyer Sound engineers to precisely adjust the beam spread and tilt for uniform coverage, while the slender profile of CAL loudspeakers keeps sight lines open.
''We approached Meyer Sound for this new system simply because they offered us the best solution,'' summarizes Azteca Stadium Audio Manager Alejandro Aguirre. ''We needed the latest in technology, and the CAL system with AVB fulfilled all our requirements.''
For the lower ring, the system deploys 24 Meyer Sound CAL 64 loudspeakers along with 10 600-HP subwoofers for low-frequency extension. The upper ring is covered by 26 Meyer Sound CAL 96 and eight CAL 64 loudspeakers, with one additional CAL 96 covering the playing surface. Two Meyer Sound GALAXY 816 network processors are placed at the head of the system for overall optimization, and two RMServers are inserted in the network for comprehensive status monitoring and troubleshooting.
The Meyer Sound GALAXY 816 master processors are connected to the control room master switch via AVB/TSN, with bi-directional signals routed over a fibre optic network from the control room switch to the eleven local switches distributed around the stadium. Each local switch connects to its assigned group of CAL loudspeakers via Cat-5e cable. All switches are Extreme Networks X440-G2 series.
''The stadium hosts a variety of events, not just association football,'' noted Alejandro. ''We also have concerts, religious events and the annual NFL games. It was essential that we have intelligible audio in every seat and with the power and clarity needed to deliver a complete watching and listening experience alongside the HD screens. All of this has been fully accomplished with the new Meyer Sound system.''
Alejandro acknowledged that the complete solution depended on design and support as well as the latest in technology. ''The Meyer Sound team studied every detail, and they made sure the right people were on the project. They advised us at every step. There is a level of commitment from Meyer Sound that sets the company apart from others in the industry.''
Designed by architects Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Rafael Mijares Alcérreca, the main structure of Estadio Azteca was completed in 1966. It had a peak capacity of 115,000 in 1986, but safety restrictions and eventual replacement of seating with VIP boxes have since reduced overall capacity. The Mexican media company Grupo Televisa owns both the stadium and its principal user, the Club América association football team.
Martin Audio Equips Olympic Park
Old Barn Audio (OBA) has completed its fourth high-profile project for the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, equipping the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London with a customised Martin Audio CDD-WR PA system.
The £30m Centre was opened in June 2014 and consists of two outdoor hockey pitches and four indoor and six outdoor tennis courts. The primary hockey pitch has a capacity of 3,000 which can be increased to 15,000 for major events.
In terms of both prestige and value, the contract ranks high in OBA’s enviable portfolio. The requirement was to make the Centre ready for a number of high profile international events, starting with the Hockey Women’s World Cup later this summer, after which the PA system will be reconfigured and extended.
OBA Project Manager, Neil Kavanagh said his company entered into a fiercely competitive tender and provided the successful bid, demonstrating to the relevant bodies, including England Hockey, that Martin Audio’s CDD series was best fit for purpose.
Using patented Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology and featuring user rotatable horns, the powerful, passive two-way Martin Audio CDD15-WR provides 100° x 60° dispersion.
Additional seating for the World Cup, doubling the capacity, will be accompanied by 17-metre high scaffolding, with the bottom tier seating 5m above the pitch. The sound system will adapt to the different World Cup and European Cup scenarios before settling in as a stand-alone system. There are also numerous hospitality boxes positioned in the North stand for the World Cup – all receiving OBA installed feeds.
In the first phase, the West, East and South stand only have been equipped with a total of 18 Martin Audio CDD15-WR (15”) speakers, which have been customised and weatherised to IP65.
This includes seven Martin Audio CCD15-WR on the West stand, mounted on 4.6m custom designed poles in landscape mode. A further five are situated on the South terraces, with another four under the existing cantilevered stand, which contains the press area. The final pair feeds the seats to each side of this stand.
However, the present complement of 18 Martin Audio CDD15-WR will eventually rise to 23 as Neil Kavanagh explains. “For the World Cup, the North segment will be occupied by portakabins for corporate hospitality and a broadcast centre. This will make way for the final five enclosures to be installed post World Cup on custom poles in the North stand.”
He concluded: “These speakers meet all the power and dispersion requirements, and exceed the IP rating of any competitor. The client is extremely happy.”
“We have been able to run the CDD15 without sub extension as they contain extended low end. Every single speaker has its own amplifier and DSP channel.”
Completing the contract, OBA has supplied a 32-channel Soundcraft Si1 and custom designed software run through a Symetrix Radius DSP with its own PC, enabling it to be zoned from a touchscreen. “We’ve also organised the radio system so it can be used in every seat without drop out, and supplied tie-lines over the console’s digital matrix for broadcast purposes.”
Daktronics Installs LED Displays at Letzigrund Stadium
Daktronics has recently been tasked with designing, engineering and installing two new LED video displays for Letzigrund Stadium.
The outdoor stadium situated in Zürich, Switzerland has new video features at each end of the field to entertain and inform live event attendees in 2018.
“After more than 10 years of use of the very reliable stadium displays, it was time for renewal and upgrade to the latest LED technology to improve the quality of the displays,” said Andreas Bachmann, Process Manager of Facility Management at Letzigrund Stadium.
“We are very proud about the result. The new displays will offer a real added value for our event partners and visitors. We thank Daktronics for a smooth realisation of the project and are looking forward to further cooperation in service.”
Each display measures 5.85 meters high by 10.61 meters wide and features 13HD pixel layouts to bring excellent image clarity and contrast to fans in every seat of the stadium. The displays incorporate industry-leading environmental protection to ensure optimal operation during any kind of weather.
“The new 13HD technology is the first one in the German spoken area and sets a landmark for the opportunities of that technology,” said Rolf Bauer, Daktronics Regional Sales Manager.
“This is a fantastic project that we’re excited to be involved in for the second time in a row. The public tender was awarded with a very tight schedule for delivery and install. Thanks to a great team from the stadium management and City of Zürich, along with our local partner AUVISO AG, we were able to achieve the given timeline and meet expectations for this project.”
Each display is capable of variable content zoning allowing each to show one large image or to be divided into multiple sections to show any combination of live video, instant replay, statistics and game information, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages.
Daktronics also included its powerful Show Control System with this installation. This industry-leading system provides a combination of display control software, world-class video processing, data integration and playback hardware that forms a user-friendly production solution. For more information on Show Control.
Spurs New Stadium Unveils Brand Identity
Tottenham Hotspur has unveiled its new stadium brand identity.
The Premier League club's new stadium will also stage NFL matches, concerts and other major events as we look to create an iconic global sports and entertainment destination in Tottenham.
This latest move affirms Spurs new stadium's own brand identity, as with all world-class multi-purpose venues. The design is inspired by the stadium’s South West Elevation as it sweeps over the five-storey atrium – a view of the stadium that fans will enjoy as they walk up the High Road on matchdays. The pattern within the marque is based around the stadium’s veil façade to create a unique and contemporary motif that can stand alone or sit elegantly alongside our famous Club badge.
The designs will be used in a number of ways for stadium-related items including tickets, stadium access cards, food and beverage packaging, uniforms for stadium stewards, security and maintenance teams. Many of these items will also be used at other major events taking place in the stadium outside of the football calendar.
Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium will currently be known as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the ‘A’ of the word ‘Stadium’ stylised to create an arrow pointing north, to represent our proud North London heritage.
Further nods to the football club history can be found throughout the stadium, with Club mottos adorning the elevations of the building along with our distinguished cockerel crest cast in concrete around the stadium perimeter. Inside, you will find feature bars such as The Shelf and The White Hart, as well as the polished concrete floors made from crushed aggregate taken from our beloved former home, White Hart Lane.
The new ident will feature for the first time alongside its Club crest on One Hotspur membership cards, which are set to be dispatched.
Bankers Life Keeps Pace with Clair Brothers
To capitalise on the buzz of the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers organisation turned to Randy Skaggs at Village Audio for innovative ideas on a high-energy system with low visual impact.
The criterion was threefold: Complete courtside coverage on all sides, down-firing court coverage, and all speakers must be self-powered. No simple task considering the high intelligibility to cover the public seating areas and courtside along with zone isolation from the court.
Randy, aware of its remarkable capabilities, looked immediately to the Clair Brothers kiT Series for a solution. The kiTCurve, with its 90° H x 15° V coverage pattern, performed solidly for the short throw to the long sides of the court, but Randy recognized that something more directional was needed to project to the far court corners; and for that he sought a TrueFit – another breakthrough Clair Brothers concept.
Clair Brothers and Village Audio collaborated to study the speaker positions and coverage angle requirements. They determined that indeed a custom dispersion on the scoreboard corners could offer better coverage with minimum overlap to other sources. A separate zone was created to cover the court itself and consists of the point source twelve-inch member of the Clair Brothers kiT Series – the kiT12.
Randy concluded: “I’ve had a great track record with Clair Brothers and learned about the TrueFit concept when they demoed the kiTCurve version at InfoComm last year. For the Bankers Life project, the minute details mattered and were vital to finding the right solution. The fact that Clair Brothers can deliver customised solutions (and relatively quickly too) is an undeniable asset. The team at Bankers Life Fieldhouse is thrilled with the result, as are we!”
Though the 2017-18 NBA season has ended, with an extra boost from Clair Brothers, the Indiana Pacers are set to rock Bankers Life Fieldhouse and make it deep into the playoffs in 2019!
Lighting Design Group Lights Vikings Studio with Chauvet
The Minnesota Vikings studio at Twin Cities Optical Performance Center features four distinct video-shooting areas, designed by Peter Provost of Provost Studio, and illuminated by Lighting Design Group's Mike Grabowski.
The colourful lighting system features close to 100 Chauvet Professional Ovation and COLORdash fixtures.
Beyond its breathtaking appearance, the studio offers maximum flexibility for broadcasting during the football season and throughout the year. An example of this can be seen its main section, which has a cutting-edge acoustic wall that rises to open to a 170-seat theatre for live audience programs.
With its ability to create a rainbow of realistic colours and change them quickly, the Lighting Design Group’s system supports the TCO studio’s combination of beautiful aesthetics and responsive versatility. “This was a really neat project to be a part of, not just for its great looks, but also for its functionality,” said Mike. “It’s the first fully fleshed-out studio that the Vikings have had, and one of only a handful of such facilities in the entire league.
“From an aesthetic standpoint, this studio is sleek, cutting edge and powerfully branded without being over the top,” continued Mike. “Bryan Harper, the Viking’s Vice President of Content and Production, Jordan Struck, VEN Producer, and the production designer Peter Provost deserve a lot of credit for making something very special happen. I think this sets a gold standard for the league.”
There are four distinct shooting sections in the TCO studio. The primary area is devoted to the anchor desk for potential sportscasts, game day halftime reports and post-game programming. (This area also converts to a live audience broadcast studio when the acoustic barrier is raised.) A second area with comfortable leather chairs is used for in-depth sit-down interviews, while a third edgier-looking section hosts social media podcasts and a fourth serves as the space for standup reports.
Mike positioned 75 Ovation E-910FC LED ellipsoidal fixtures with a mixture of 19°, 26°, 36° and 50° lenses throughout the studio. The RGBA-Lime fixtures serve as key lights as well as colour washes in the four shooting areas, where they are hung from center-set positions. Additionally, the Ovation units work as front stage lights when the acoustic wall opens and the main studio is used for live broadcasts.
“Being able to flip the colour from the Ovations to anything we need is hugely helpful, especially given the emphasis on versatility at this studio,” said Mike. “Another invaluable feature was the ability of the Ovation fixtures to project very crisp gobos. This is a sports studio, so we needed to project team logos - and of course they had to be flawless. Aside from delivering this level of perfection, the Ovations allow our clients to preview gobos before they purchase anything. On several occasions, we printed the gobos on acetate so we could get the sizing and art exactly right… and then we sent it off to be built in glass after we knew we had EXACTLY what everyone loved. That was a real client-pleaser!”
For added colour accents, Mike positioned 20 Chauvet Professional COLORdash Accent Quad fixtures throughout the four shooting areas. Aside from adding extra colour, these fixtures are used as eye candy in some backdrops, always with an emphasis on displaying accurate colours.
“Along with the quality and evenness of the light, colour rendition is of the utmost importance here,” said Mike. “The Minnesota Vikings logo colours are instantly identifiable, and they must be accurate. We even built two versions of a lot of the colours---one for the naked eye, when tours are being given, and another for the broadcast. It’s all part of the versatility that’s been designed into this studio.”
Harman Supplies Audio to Spurs New Stadium
Harman Professional Solutions has been selected as the official audio supplier for Tottenham Hotspur at its new stadium.
The Premier League football club will be moving to its newly-constructed 62,000 capacity home later this year. The state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue features a wide range of luxury amenities including an innovative retractable pitch, cutting-edge video screens, a museum and club shop. In order to deliver an exceptional audio experience that can complement the state-of-the art facilities and enhance the fan experience at its new stadium, Tottenham Hotspur has selected an integrated Harman Professional audio solution made up of JBL Professional loudspeakers, Crown amplification, and a Soundcraft digital mixing console.
The Harman Professional audio solution includes 156 JBL VLA-C2100 loudspeakers, 54 JBL VLA-C125 subwoofers, 196 JBL AWC82 all-weather loudspeakers, 140 Crown DriveCore Install amplifiers, and more than 3,500 JBL Control Contractor speakers installed across the facility. Audio will be mixed on a Soundcraft Vi2000 digital console and monitored via JBL LSR 305 reference monitors.
“Harman Professional Solutions is an industry-leading provider of world-class audio solutions, and we are pleased to announce them as the official audio supplier for our new state-of-the-art stadium,” said Matthew Collecott, Operations & Finance Director, Tottenham Hotspur.
Chris Smith, Vice President, EMEA, Harman Professional Solutions, said: “Tottenham Hotspur is one of the most historic and prestigious clubs in football, and Harman Professional Solutions is honoured to provide a cutting-edge audio solution at their incredible new stadium.”
“Leveraging our industry-leading experience in delivering enterprise-level solutions at sports facilities, we are uniquely positioned to provide a powerful audio solution that helps elevate the action on the field and delivers an incredible experience for their fans,” he concluded.