Recent Work

Toronto, May 26, 2020 — Xilica®, a global leader in digital signal processing technology for AV and installed sound, has appointed Techni+Contact Canada as its sole distribution partner for the Canadian market.

Headquartered in Montreal with multiple Canadian offices, Techni+Contact has served Canada’s professional AV business community for more than 40 years. The company has built a strong reputation as a value-added reseller for manufacturers, and a trusted provider of customized AV over IP solutions backed by personalized service and dedicated support.

Xilica joins an impressive range of Techni+Contact-represented brands, including AMX, Ecler, Utelogy, Spinetix and WolfVision. The addition of Xilica’s modular DSP solutions strengthens Techni+Contact’s value proposition as a supplier of complete conferencing solutions for key business verticals. Techni-Contact works closely with a growing network of Canadian AV dealers, resellers, systems integrators, AV project consultants, and installers, and performs particularly strongly in corporate, education and government projects. The company expects to see growing interest from live event venues seeking large-format systems, as well as hospitality businesses seeking flexible installed solutions for restaurants and bars.

“Xilica is the first professional DSP manufacturer in the Techni-Contact portfolio, and fills an important gap in our product line,” said Julie Legault, President of Techni+Contact. “Xilica is aligned with our core verticals, and will help us propose and configure fully integrated solutions that are more competitive and on target with what our customers seek. Their clever, compact, and modular designs are an especially strong fit for the AV over IP ecosystem, while providing end users with the freedom of complete AV device control across the network,” Legault added.

Legault adds that Xilica’s assorted modules, field-swappable cards, and expansion devices remove the need to invest in large stockpiles of inventory for various products. “Depending on the cards we mix within a Xilica DSP, we can quickly configure whatever functionality our customers need,” she said. “This results in operational efficiency that saves us money, inventory, and warehouse costs, and makes the entire value chain work better for our customers.”

Techni+Contact will be aggressive and proactive in its market outreach to raise brand awareness and visibility of Xilica’s high-quality products, according to Legault. She also looks forward to contributing to online Xilica Certified™ training events and webinars in the near future, and expects to host Xilica brand launch events – as well as in-person Xilica Preferred™ advanced training events – after the COVID-19 pandemic passes. Xilica Certified™ and Xilica Preferred™ events are the two tracks associated with Xilica’s recently-announced Xilica Genius Global Training Program.

“Techni+Contact is a well-respected organization that is laser-focused on our core verticals, and equipped with the specialism and expertise that our shared customers demand,” said Mark Ullrich, Sr. Manager, Application Sales for Xilica. “With multiple locations throughout Canada, advanced logistics facilities and an ability to consistently stock Xilica products with quick delivery, we are very fortunate to have Techni+Contact join our global partner network. We look forward to working closely with a highly talented and dedicated team that is uniquely qualified to represent our growing brand in Canada.”

About Xilica

Xilica® is an award-winning manufacturer of innovative, next-generation digital signal processing solutions for AV/ITcontrol and command applications including conference, corporate, hospitality and leisure, retail and transportation. From its headquarters in Toronto, Canada, Xilica sells and supports products worldwide in over 75 countries, gaining rapid acknowledgement for its all-modular, ultra-small-format and high-performance product ranges that solve critical business challenges.

www.xilica.com

Cost-effective facility enables remote IP production and live OTT streaming of global triathlon and marathon events

St. Petersburg, Florida, May 4, 2020 — CP Communications, a leader in innovative solutions and services for live event productions, hascompleted the systems integration of a custom-designed streaming media studio and control room that enables The IRONMAN® Group—a Tampa-based sports event management company—to deliver live coverage of its branded multisport and marathon events over-the-top (OTT) via its website and Facebook Watch.

Owned by the Chinese Wanda Sports Group, The IRONMAN® Group produces more than 235 race events across 55 countries worldwide. These include the iconic IRONMAN®  Triathlon, which combines swimming, biking, and running into a single long-distance contest; the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, and more.

“With this new multipurpose facility, IRONMAN can now produce live video coverage of events remotely over IP, saving travel and crew costs for a faster ROI,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO, CP Communications. “Bonded cellular—one of our specialties—facilitates video signal backhaul and distribution, bringing IRONMAN over the finish line as a provider of premium sports content.”

Besides bonded cellular for IP-based transmission, the design leverages Dante® to configure, manage, and route broadcast-quality audio over IP; and NDI®, an IP-based video networking platform that extends the HD-SDI workflow. These technologies form a powerful yet-cost-effective studio and control room to manage remote productions via IP, and simultaneously produce live studio segments for event commentary, news, and Skype call-ins. A digital media room supports production of live stream video podcasts and on-demand training videos for IRONMAN athletes.

Unique Technical Challenges

IRONMAN had already purchased some equipment before engaging CP Communications, including a 4-input NewTek TriCaster Mini video switcher and an analog Mackie audio board. They required a more sophisticated technical infrastructure to accomplish their production goals and CP expanded IRONMAN’s capabilities to maximize those capital investments. Within two months and on a tight budget, CPharnessed the combined experience and technical expertise of their designers, engineers and systems integrators, who built-out the studio and control room in two adjoining offices at IRONMAN’s Tampa headquarters.

The control room now includes the following gear to enhance the production workflow:

• An external 20×20 expansion router to expand the switcher’s video inputs from 4 to 20
• A Dante license was added to the TriCaster Mini to accommodate Dante-compliant audio
• A Yamaha TF-1 digital audio mixer with Dante sound card
• A Dante-enabled Unity intercom system, wireless mics, and in-ear monitors
• A Wowza Clearcaster for streaming to online portals like Facebook
• Mobile Viewpoint 2K4 playout servers and Terralink bonded cellular encoders

The 20-square foot studio design added the following capabilities:

• A News Desk Production set
• A greenscreen stage for immersive virtual sets and backdrops
• A NewTek TalkShow for bringing Skype callers into the live program
• Two Sony PXW-100 (1080i) cameras with added zoom and focus control, fluid head tripods, Dante communications, and NDI-based teleprompters
• A DMX lighting control system to control color temperatures and lighting set-ups

“We designed this studio/control room to enable IRONMAN to record training videos with virtual sets and to acquire, produce and stream its own high-value sports content,” Heitmann said. “We also paid special attention to the quality and consistency of the lighting for virtual sets, and keeping video and audio in sync with NTP clocking. The complete solution now ensure a flawless, broadcast-quality presentationfor every IRONMAN event.”

About CP Communications

For more than three decades, CP Communications has provided high-quality, cost-effective live event production solutions to major broadcasters, sports leagues and teams, and event and production companies. Our solutions include access to experienced professionals, state of the art equipment, and innovative technologies and techniques for wireless audio & video content acquisition, transport and delivery. Our culture of innovation, coupled with the highest quality assurance standards and passion for customer service, promote collaboration with our clients to determine the best custom solution for each live event.

High-end Chinese restaurant in Dubai International Financial Centre manages audio experience for diners and bar patrons across multiple zones through Xilica’s compact Solaro QR1 DSP

Toronto, April 30, 2020 — Xilica®, a global leader in digital signal processing technology for AV and installed sound, continues its forward momentum in the hospitality vertical with a Solaro Series DSP installation at Hutong, a high-end Chinese restaurant located in the busy Dubai International Financial District. Installed by Levels, a regional integratorspecializing in the hotel, bar, restaurant and nightlife sectors, the project leverages a Solaro QR1 DSP to process and manage analog and digital audio across two floors.

Levels was brought into the ground-up construction project early, and carefully specified the audio system to live on the main IT network and complement the architectural design. The Levels team selected the Solaro QR1 for its price-to-performance ratio and compact design, providing a high-quality, cost-efficient and space-saving networked DSP solution ideal for fine dining environments.

“The Solaro Series is our preferred choice for our hospitality installations, and the Solaro QR1 offers the same powerful signal optimization and programming flexibility as larger Solaro DSPs in a far smaller form factor,” said Daniel Ball, Partner, Levels. “It’s an ideal solution for restaurants with modest I/O requirements for a select number of zones. And since we were dealing with limited real estate for AV systems, the Solaro QR1’s quarter-rack-width footprint addressed our physical integration concerns.”

The Solaro QR1 efficiently manages analog and digital connections across multiple zones, processing Dante digital audio for the livelier public dining and bar areas (public and private), and analog audio for secondary spaces including private dining areas, restrooms and an outdoor terrace. Live DJs in the bar area plug straight into the network via a Dante injector, with most background music coming from standalone media players in the central equipment rack.

Ball adds that Xilica DSPs are built with the IT network in mind, which eliminates many upfront concerns from IT integrators about AV system interoperability. That was especially important in this installation since Xilica would live on the main IT network, versus being segmented on a separate network to process audio streams.

“We worked closely with the IT integrator to develop a controlled environment with a layer of switching for the AV equipment,” said Ball. “The Solaro QR1 lives on the general campus network without affecting general IT traffic, and quietly processes and controls audio signals in the background.” The Solaro Q1 feeds Powersoft Audio and Sonance amplifiers co-located in the same equipment rack, with loudspeaker systems from Pioneer Pro Audio, Powersoft and Sonance reproducing audio in the various zones.

Hassan Alwan, Managing Partner at Levels, said that the overall systems design goal was to provide simplicity for the Hutong staff, and the DJs that plug into the system. “There is a controlled philosophy built into the entire system that provides simple, zone-by-zone control elements for the entire restaurant. The Solaro QR1 is an important part of that simplicity and user-friendliness, without any sacrifice to audio quality and the hospitality experience.”

About Xilica

Xilica® is an award-winning manufacturer of innovative, next-generation digital signal processing solutions for AV control and command applications including conference, corporate, hospitality and leisure, retail and transportation. From its headquarters in Toronto, Canada, Xilica sells and supports products worldwide in over 75 countries, gaining rapid acknowledgement for its all-modular, ultra-small-format and high-performance product ranges that solve critical business challenges.

www.xilica.com

UK-based integrator quickly solves HDBaseT connectivity issues for PTZ camera system in Turkish museum project, and now uses MS-TestPro device exclusively for HDBaseT testing

RA’ANANA, ISRAEL/LONDON, April 29, 2020 — MSolutions, a leading supplier of test devices for commercial and residential AV environments, reports that Glantre Engineering, a UK-based AV and entertainment systems contractor, has added MSolutions’ portable MS-TestPro MS104B test device to its installation toolset. The device gives Glantre Engineering’s installers a new handheld device to verify 4K HDBaseT connectivity and signal presence for projectsthroughout EMEA, and a cost-efficient alternative to competing test devices that limit installers to specific applications.

Glantre Engineering previously used network test devices from a competing vendor that have performed well, but fell short during a theater AV installation for the recently-opened Arter Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Challenges arose while testing HDBaseT connectivity for HDBaseT PTZ HD camera systems, with the other test equipment being unable to verify HDBaseT compatibility over a 65-meter category-cable run—well below HDBaseT’s maximum connection distance of 100 meters (328 feet). The equipment vendor’s support team had passed blame to the cabling infrastructure.

“It turned out to be a device firmware issue that was difficult to resolve,” said Tim Davies, Director, Glantre Engineering. “We purchased the MS-TestPro, certified the cable for 4K HDBaseT and identified that the Valens firmware on the camera transmitter board was very old. This information sent us back to the manufacturer to obtain replacement HDBaseT transmitter boards to fit onsite. We now exclusively use this tester for certifying our HDBaseT systems, and can quickly certify all of our CAT6A shielded tie lines for HDBaseT at various resolutions.”

Tim is especially impressed with its user-friendly nature in the trenches, including Wi-Fi connectivity between the MS-TestPro and personal mobile devices. “I don’t have to physically carry a tester up a ladder with me anymore, or accessboth ends of the cable to fault-find,” he said. “I can plug the MS-TestPro into one end of the cable, recall the software on my smartphone, connect to the tester, and certify a cable using whatever HDBaseT receiver is attached to the end. This proved very helpful for the Arter Museum project, which covered theaters, art galleries, meeting spaces, and other AV environments across eight floors.”

Tim is currently evaluating MSolutions’ HDMI Cable Tester module, which attaches to the MS-TestPro for verifying structural cable integrity. In limited use, Glantre has used the module to identify problems with 10-meter passive HDMI cables prior to installation. The HDMI Tester Module eliminates the need to purchase a separate HDMI device for testing, most of which are limited to pattern testing versus structural wire testing underneath the HDMI cable shielding.

For Tim, the real value comes down to knowing that his installed AV systems will perform as advertised after leaving the job site. “This is a better fit for AV installers than an expensive network tester built for structured cable testing and certification. It offers a much quicker return on investment for AV installers,” he said. “We leave with 100 percent certainty that our systems are properly tested and functioning correctly, and with certification documents to validate every HDBaseT connection in the system. That is important, as warranty claims can be investigated without installers being on the hook for problems caused elsewhere.”

About Glantre Engineering

Glantre is a Systems Integrator, undertaking Stage Engineering, Production Lighting, Performance Audio, Broadcast Video and Audiovisual projects for Venues and TV studios worldwide. Glantre’s in house design and build capability enhances their integration of professional audio/video equipment. Alongside production of custom AV control software, Glantre design and manufacture custom hardware to address specific client requirements, when off-the-shelf solutions are unavailable. For more information, visit www.glantre.com.

About MSolutions

Since 2016, MSolutions has developed state-of-the-art HDBaseT test, multimedia and switching solutions for leading enterprises and integrators in the Pro AV and government markets. The company designs and manufactures advanced, high-quality systems that make media networks based on HDBaseT easier to install, more stable, and more enjoyable for end users. The MSolutions team leverages extensive experience and expertise, having been directly involved in HDBaseT development, support and sales since the standard was introduced in 2010. For more information, visit www.m4sol.com and follow MSolutions on Twitter @m4sols.

SK-UHD-8060B incorporates advanced CMOS sensor with organic photoconductive film to expand dynamic range of 8K acquisition

Woodbury, NY, April 28, 2020 — Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) is continuing its leadership in 8K camera development with the introduction of its new SK-UHD8060B dockable 8K UHDTV camera. The company’s fifth-generation 8K acquisition solution, the SK-UHD8060B combines the rich features and proven advantages of previous Hitachi 8K models with an innovative organic photoconductive CMOS image sensor to capture stellar 8K video with expanded dynamic range.

Existing 8K camera sensors have been limited in their dynamic range and sensitivity by the size of their pixels, which must be much smaller than those of 4K and HD cameras to accommodate 8K’s higher resolution. Using a CMOS image sensor with an organic photoconductive film (OPF) enables a higher saturation charge compared to silicon photodiodes, thus increasing dynamic range without the diminished image quality inherent with previous range expansion technologies. The SK-UHD8060B offers greater than 400% dynamic range, maximizing the effectiveness of its support for the Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) HDR specification, and combines it with built-in signal-to-noise management to optimize visual performance.

The SK-UHD8060B’s Super 35mm OPF CMOS sensor delivers 8K video with 7680×4320 resolution, providing 16 times the picture information of HDTV. The new camera conforms to global standards including UHD-2, the ITU-R BT.2020 color specification, ITU-R BT.2100 for High Dynamic Range, and Japan’s ARIB specifications.

The SK-UHD8060B supports PL-mount lenses and can flexibly output multiple television standards including 8K, 4K/UHD, 1080p, 1080i and 720p. The new camera head can be paired with a dockable recorder that uses a visually lossless codec, avoiding the time-consuming, post-acquisition processing typically required with RAW 8K recording approaches.

“Hitachi Kokusai has been at the forefront of 8K camera technology for many years, and the SK-UHD8060B continues this tradition of innovation,” said Sean Moran, Chief Operating Officer, Hitachi Kokusai. “The use of a sensor with organic photoconductive thin film enables increased dynamic range not previously possible at 8K resolutions, while its compactness and configuration flexibility make it suitable not only for studio and outside broadcast applications but also for cinematography when combined with an appropriate lens and recorder.”

The SK-UHD8060B, as well as Hitachi Kokusai’s new SK-UHD8240 240 fps high-speed 8K camera, will be used at the major international sporting event in Tokyo next year.

About Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc.

Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a company that manufactures broadcasting systems, security and surveillance systems, wireless communications and information systems. Fiscal 2018 (ended March 31, 2019) sales totaled 85,932 million Yen. For more information on Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc., please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachi-kokusai.co.jp/global/en/index.html.