Welcome to our November newsletter.
In this month's edition we take a look at our collaboration with RCF and Hollowsphere AV at the brilliant new Stoke City fanzone. Our brand focus is on the evergreen industry favourites TOA and their beam steering AM CF1 mic array. Tech Hub this month delves into commonly used video terminology, and we explore some of the newer products in the audio and video market. Please click on any image below for further product information.
Regards Brian. Managing Director
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Project News
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Commercial Audio Solutions were approached last year to design a sound system for the new fan zone at Stoke City FC. We were also asked to recommend one of our installation customers to supply and install the equipment to the club, and we duly approached Hollowsphere AV, due to their experience with live events and stage rigging. Stoke City FC had conceived the idea for an external fan zone to enhance the match day
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experience for the thousands of fans that attend games. It offers the ability to see and hear live bands, experience large screen TV playback for international football matches, and offers a wide range of food and drink before and after matches.
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The design brief for the system was fairly open ended, but we needed to consider that the system would be permanently installed outside, so weather resistance was important. It also had to provide great audio playback for a variety of applications, bands, guest speakers, DJ's and large screen events.
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We chose RCF's P5228 IP55 rated compact array loudspeakers, along with two S8028ii double 18" sub woofers. The P5228 loudspeakers were flown with four elements in each array with their brackets allowing a choice of different splay angles ensuring optimal coverage. Two additional P3108 were used at the front of the stage for near field in-fill. The system was powered using RCF's QOS10K 4 x 2.5kW power amplifiers and processing was handled by the RCF DX4008 4 x 8 loudspeaker controller.
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An Allen & Heath digital mixer was used to provide mixing and processing, and four Sennheiser EW-D digital wireless microphones ensured professional audio pick-up.
For assistance with any upcoming projects, please don't hesitate to contact us.
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Waves System VP320 & VP330
The VP320 & VP330 audio/video players from Waves System are designed for reliable playback of multiple formats up to 4K HDR10 resolution. Playback can be automated by the use of the simple to use scheduler software allowing 24/7 programming of playlists and files. The VP320 features one contact input for external triggering and the VP330 (shown above) features eight contact inputs and eight contact outputs, making the player the central control unit in an interactive display or sound/light show.
Media can be stored on its internal 4Gb storage and additional storage can be held on USB/Mircro SD or external drive. Both players have line level audio via RCA phono, or 2 x 10w 8 ohm loudspeaker output. RS232 control is also available on the VP330. Ethernet connectivity allows monitoring, uploading files and control of the player.
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As part of their TICA series of super compact install problem solvers, LD Systems have introduced a number of Dante audio adaptors, including the DIO22, pictured above.
The DIO22 features two mic/line inputs with phantom power and two balanced audio outputs to get audio on and off a Dante network. It can be powered via POE+ networks or from its local power supply. Other models in the range are the DIO44 4 in/out and DIO04 4 output.
Its diminutive dimensions makes it ideal for mounting discreetly almost anywhere; behind screens, under tables or even in in air-handling spaces and above suspended ceilings in a variety of audio installation applications.
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Founded in 1934 in Kobe, Japan, TOA benefit from years of experience in research, development and manufacturer of public address, voice alarm, intercom and professional sound systems.
Now they have turned their attention to the web conferencing market, with their new AM-CF1 Integrated microphone array and sound bar.
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The AM-CF1 beam steering microphone sound bar is designed for use in video and web conferencing systems. Ideal for small to medium sized conference rooms, the bar incorporates an array with 8 microphone elements to track sound automatically from different participants around the room. It includes two built in loudspeakers and DSP for superb sound quality.
Once the sound bar is mounted underneath the screen, the AMCF1 enables a natural sounding conversation to take place with remote participants without having to lean into a microphone or worry whether the mic is in the right place. Built-in AEC (Acoustics Echo Cancellation), NC (Noise Cancellation), and EQ (Equaliser).
For impromptu meetings, a smartphone can be paired via bluetooth allowing anyone to attend your conference on the road.
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Tech News
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Video Terms Explained
Many audio companies are increasingly being asked to add video products into the systems they provide. Just as the audio industry has it’s own special vocabulary, video has its own terminology. Here are seven of the most common terms used in video installations, explained.
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The relationship between the width and the height of your video dimensions expressed as a ratio. The most common aspect ratios for video are 4:3, 16:9. Resolution is a measure of the number of pixels a video contains both horizontally and vertically.
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High Definition Media Interface is a digital connector prevalent across both consumer electronics and modern computers. HDMI carries both HD video and the audio signal to the display device. It is available in standard and mini format. Practically, there is a limit of 15m before losses are incurred. Beyond this distance boosted HDMI cables can be used or an HDMI extender. (Standard or HDBaseT).
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High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection is a copy-protection scheme to eliminate the possibility of capturing digital content from the source to the display. It is designed to protect digital signals when using a Digital Video Interface (DVI) and High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). Should any device in the signal chain not support HDCP then a blank or ‘snowy’ picture will be the result.
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Frame rate is the measurement of how quickly a number of frames appears within a second, which is why it's also called FPS (frames per second).
24fps This is the minimum speed needed to capture video while still maintaining realistic motion. If you capture a really busy scene at 24fps, you'll see a lot of motion blur.
30fps With six more frames a second, you'll see more detail during scenes with high motion; however, the motion might start to look unnatural and suffer from the "soap opera effect", if a lower FPS source is displayed.
30+fps Anything higher than 30fps is usually reserved for recording busy scenes with lots of motion, such as video games, athletics, or anything you want to show in slow motion.
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HDBaseT is a consumer electronic and commercial connectivity standard for transmission of uncompressed ultra-high definition video, digital audio, DC power, Ethernet, USB 2.0, and other control communication (such as RS-232 and IR) over a single category 5e (or better) cable up to 100m in length, terminated using RJ45 connectors. The conductors, cable, and connectors are as used in Ethernet networks, but are not otherwise exchangeable.
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Also known as MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding) it is now one of the most commonly used recording formats for high-definition video. It offers significantly greater compression than previous formats.
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Full range of commercial audio products.
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Video distribution equipment.
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Cameo professional lighting range.
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If we can help in any way, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
01663 767888
sales@commercialaudiosolutions.com
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