Application Stories

World's Largest Stationary Projection Diorama

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World's Largest Stationary Projection Diorama

Boris Yeltsin

The life of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, the first President of the Russian Federation, is celebrated by the opening of The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center in Ekaterinburg—with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev taking part in the opening ceremony

More than 30,000 exhibits and 13,000 photos are on display (and a lot of AV equipment) went into this $76 million project that started in 2011.

Since 2012, AV systems integrator AudioVideoSystems LLC has been designing the Multimedia section of the project.

The project for equipping Yeltsin Centre became not just a part of their daily business, but a world-class challenge with an unprecedented level of technical complexity of the project.

Together with Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center representatives and project team members, AudioVideoSystems experts designed a package of technical documentation. They demonstrated the solution for media screen using projectors of different manufacturers right on the site. In addition to the meetings and consultations there were organized business trips to Japan and China.

Yeltsin Center2

Yeltsin Center project includes a number of subject areas, with each area distinguished not only by functional, but also by aesthetic characteristics and technical requirements.

AudioVideoSystems installed the technical equipment for the “Atrium” and the “Temporary Exhibitions Gallery.”

In the Atrium, they installed the world's largest stationary projection diorama—created by 30 crosslinked projectors producing an image on a curved surface 61.2 meters long and 9.7 meters high. The video is accompanied by sound: L-acoustics loud sound system is used during events, Bose speakers broadcast background music and voice announcements on floors 1-3.

Video projection is made from 6 points by groups of 5 Panasonic projectors fitted at the second floor. Background sound system is intended for playback of audio tracks to the video demonstrated at the screen and also for music broadcasting and voice announcements while the screen isn’t used. The speakers’ volume is adjusted separately for each floor. Amplifiers allow to use the system during performance taking place on the mobile stage. The system is built on Bose acoustics.

Video surveillance system in the Atrium is built on special Panasonic cameras. Installed software enables the operator to use many functions managing cameras and processing the resulting video.

Sound amplifying equipment is installed behind the screen. Sound amplifiers and 6 groups of L-Acoustics speakers are evenly placed along the wall. 12 speakers from the same manufacturer are installed under the screen.

For the purposes of event organizers a mobile stage can be mounted. The stage consists of aluminum catwalks. The stage is equipped with concert sound, light and control systems from leading manufacturers: Yamaha, L'Acoustics, Martin.

The switching system is based on professional equipment. All connecting points for sound and light equipment on the mobile stage can be completely dismantled and stored in special cases, thus preserving the aesthetics of the interior.

Go AudioVideoSystems LLC

Go Opening of The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center


Wavetec: Latin America Puts Stock in Displays

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Mexico Stock Exchange

Wavetec completes the largest installation at Mexico Stock Exchange. Combined in total, 150 m² of ultra-bright LED display was installed-- using 4mm and 10mm pitch.

Wavetec steered the project to install a 40 meter long LED Ticker on the front of Mexico Stock Exchange’s building. Thomson Reuters, sponsored the project and provided support to renovate the displays at the Exchange.

Based in Dubai, Wavetec has successfully managed successful projects, screens installations and system integrations in more than 25 stock exchanges in Spain, Chile, Peru, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Dubai, Nigeria and Kenya. It provides financial market displays that enable real-time information dissemination to financial institutions.

Mexico Stock Exchange Display

During the first phase of the project, Wavetec installed an 8 m² screen in the “authorities balcony” and a full color, 360° curve indoor LED Display with a resolution of more than 3 million pixels, reaching 54 meters around the perimeter of the stock exchange’s trading floor.

In the second phase, a 40 meters curved LED Ticker covering the front of Mexico Stock Exchange's symbolic building was installed. This state of the art display technology ensures outstanding brightness and durability throughout the years. Both the indoor and outdoor displays ensure high brightness even when exposed to bright sunlight or outdoor harsh climatic conditions.

Donatello Suite, Wavetec’s turnkey enterprise level software is also integrated at Mexico Stock Exchange offering advanced tools for canvas design, and data and content management (for example, changing stock prices on the fly. The system also offers performance monitoring and reporting features.

Go Wavetec at the Mexico Stock Exchange


Christie & Barneys Create a Chillin’ Consumer Experience

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Winter Brilliance

We don’t usually cover any case studies outside of EMEA, but when it is this “cool” we have to call it to your attention.

Christie once again is partnering with the famous U.S. retailer Barneys to create a one-of-a-kind holiday window display on New York City’s glamorous Madison Avenue.

Barneys are visionaries in designing retail experience for today’s savvy consumer, using technology and creativity to enrich their brand in the age of bricks vs clicks.

This Christmas season NYC retailer used Christie’s digital lighting effects to map to a special-ordered Dale Chihuly glass sculpture entitled Winter Brilliance. Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as a fine art and his work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide.

Winter Brilliance combines several star-like chandeliers and towers within a darkened window space, giving the impression of ice crystals frozen midair. It marks the first time Chihuly has used 3D digital mapping and choreographed lighting to illuminate an installation.

At Barney’s, this choreographed projection of light creates the illusion of ice, snow, and moonlight, adding a fluid and kinetic quality to the sculpture.

The lighting cycle starts with pure white before moving into a sequence of snow flurries, ending in fiery display of red and yellow light projected onto the 700 hand-blown glass “icicle” elements. The scene is an interpretation of fire and ice, relating to the heating and cooling of the glass making process. The choreographed projection is accompanied by a modern adaptation of a score by Claude Debussy, one of Chihuly’s favorite composers.

Making Winter Brilliance

Christie is also present in a second holiday window display at Barneys, Arctic Chase, created in partnership with Lexus, that features penguins perched atop miniature cars navigating a winding winter road. An animated short film by Invisible Light Network entitled Stay Cool is shown on a video wall composed of 2X4 Christie FHD461-X flat panels.

A third window display features slowly evolving ice castles, while a fourth display treats pedestrians to live ice carving demonstrations. Altogether, the windows produce an immersive visual narrative that engages pedestrians in a dramatic way, creates conversation, and leads them into the store.

The holiday windows will be on view at Barneys New York flagship store through January 3, 2016.

Dennis Freedman, creative director, Barneys New York, notes “In addition to their high-performance technologies, Christie brought a lot value and expertise from the conceptual and creative perspective, and it has worked out to be an incredible collaboration. To watch how they work to create the content and the effects was extraordinary.”

“Projection mapping upon 700 pieces of hand-blown glass has never been done before and is very difficult to replicate. It’s an enormously creative and technical accomplishment, and is the kind of successful ‘art-meets-retail experience’ that we’ll see emerging all over the world in the next few years,” explains Sean James, VP, Christie Global Professional Services.

Through its Christie THREE SIXTY unit, Christie provides best-of-class experience design, content creation and content management solutions for next-generation digital media installations.

This Christie THREE SIXTY team developed digital 3D lighting experience concepts and content for Chihuly to review and approve. This was all new technology for Chihuly and his team and Christie reports he was both surprised and happy with the results.

Go Christie Digital Systems

Watch the “Winter Brilliance” Video

Auchan Adds 73 Screens by ViaDirect

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Auchan Group opened its new shopping center, Les Saisons de Meaux, with 73 monitors dedicated to Immochan combining touch screens, digital signage and interactive applications.

ViaDirect

The largest single-site installation ever for ViaDirect, the company installed the digital in-store advertising screens, highlighting the mall's promotions and advertisers' content. ViaDirect has implemented the BroadSign display solution.

The 47 digital signage screens are placed at strategic locations:

  • •2 totems outdoor 55'' are located in the Drive. They are resistant to temperature fluctuations, rain, dust, sun, cold and enjoy a high brightness display
  • •10 totems indoor 65'' including 6 dual-screen totems produced by ViaDirect scattered throughout the mall
  • •11 screens 48'' above checkout and 18 screens 55'' hanging above the shelves of Auchan hypermarket

The facility was equipped with a solution to make measurements of audience and behavioral analysis.

The mall features the Aushopping label reflecting the values of fun, daring, sharing and proximity desired by Immochan to create a new vision of trade, physical and digital.

In order to achieve this digital approach, the company asked ViaDirect to create several digital installations for the Les Saisons de Meaux:

  • 2 interactive children playgrounds with six 15'' multitouch screens with a wide range of classics games and 2 children "huts" with 46" screen for cartoon broadcasting
  • 1 relaxation area consisting of a 40'' screen broadcasting a series of soothing pictures
  • 2 multi-touch coffee tables for reading various magazines
  • 2 kiosks with a filtered internet access and the ‘Pyro Jump’ game, inspired by the successful smartphone game.
  • 1 Game Wall. The equipment consists of two 7" multi-touch remotes to play alone or in a 1 vs 1 mode on a big 46'' screen facing the players. The first game is a variation of the famous Tetris and others will follow in the coming months.

ViaDirect has produced the furniture, integrated the hardware, and developed the software programs for all these devices.

ViaDirect also produced and installed six 40'' wayfinding kiosks.

ViaDirect provides maintenance services:

  • Systematically installed in their digital equipment, the VDBox ensures the electric remote control, data security, supervision of equipment and software and outsourcing.
  • The VD Monitor software supervises the status of all the equipment and the incident management with geolocation.
  • The Parisian technical department manages dozens of partners in France and Europe to intervene for the client. They detect incidents in 2 hours and solve most of them in one day.

Partners in France and also internationally, ViaDirect and Auchan/Immochan have collaborated on 20 projects in two years.

Go ViaDirect and The Auchan Group’s New Shopping Center

Absen Flying High with Airport Solutions

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Clear Channel Norway

Absen European Managing Director Ruben Rengel calls it "one of the most accomplished digital signage solutions in a European Airport to-date.”

The three large-scale airport screens in Norway (Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim) fortify the relationship between Absen Europe and Clear Channel Norway (CCN), a leading Scandinavian out-of-home advertising company, who have opted for Absen solutions on several other installations in Norway.

Utilising Absen’s AI03 3.9mm pixel pitch panels, an impressive 57 square metre screen was recently installed in the luggage arrival hall in Stavanger airport (Sola) on the west coast; another 20 square metre screen was deployed in Bergen (Flesland) in the departure lounge, while a seven square metre screen was fitted in the luggage arrival zone in Trondheim airport, Værnes.

Content on each screen is run by a computer and a special graphic card with four DVI outputs.

“The Stavanger installation in particular was a wish from CCN to install a high resolution, high impact screen for the end user, in an attempt to satisfy and attract high profile advertisers,” commented Rengel. “The 57 square metre screen not only gives a great opportunity for advertisers to get their message across, it serves as a fantastic reference for CCN expertise in providing state of the art digital signage solutions.”

Although CCN has contracts with seven airports in Norway for digital signage solutions, LCD has traditionally been the panel of choice for the installers. That is, until CCN discovered the potential of Absen’s LED panels. “Image quality on the screen is undoubtedly one of the best we’ve seen in the world,” says Jonas Michael, Head of Digital Development and Operations at Clear Channel Norway.

“We have tested a lot of brands and we realised that Absen had one of the best quality LED panels on the market at a price that is competitive, so the decision to deploy LED screens of various sizes for these airport projects was a no brainer.”

As several car manufacturers and oil industry companies had already lined up to advertise on the large 57sqm screen in Stavanger Airport, the pressure was on CCN to find a panel of the highest quality within its budget constraints.

Just as important for CCN, however, was reliability. One of the methods with which Absen has enabled CCN to enjoy such peace of mind is by developing a SNMP (single network management protocol) monitoring solution. The monitoring protocol - which counts 3500 digital assets in Norway (switches routers, internet connectors, panels, screens) - gives information about LED panel failure, heat emission, and other such panel statistics which are then sent to the CCN remote monitoring server.

“The Absen LED panels are not just well performing, they offer reliability as standard - and we can prove it with Absen’s SNMP system,” commented Michael. “Because we can see that the failure rate of the LED panels are extremely low, its makes CCN even more confident in investing in the Absen brand. The SNMP is a great example of Absen’s capacity to listen to feedback and come back with even better solutions. To be able to count on such a level of performance and reliability gives us peace of mind.”

Go Absen Flying High in Norway