Performance Venue Case Study
International Car Show
Challenges
- Sheer volume of channels and processing: Between the BMW and Volkswagon booths, there were over 500 channels of audio to process.
- Multiple Zones: There were several different kinds of areas at each stand, including static displays . There was also a need to transport audio from live mixing boards that were supporting press conferences and other media events.
- Emergency Support: Needed the ability to override the entire PA/VA system in case of an emergency.
- Simple Control: There needed to be a simple way to trigger audio presets.
“Q-SYS seemed capable of delivering an impressive amount of processor power and number of channels with ease.”
Hansjörg Wenzel, Filmtec Media GmbH
Solutions
IT Audio designed the audio infrastructure on behalf of NIYU Media projects, who are responsible for all BMW Group’s stand design and planning.
The system consisted of two Q-SYS Core 500s, two Q-SYS I/O Frames, a remotely situated I/O-22 Frame, and three TSC-3 touchscreens that are built into the areas adjacent to the stand.
Til Schwartz from IT Audio said “There are around 500 live audio channels on this stand, assigned to the various different regions on the stand itself and its adjacent areas, plus a few themed zones dedicated to highlighting particular markets. Putting all of this together in Q-SYS was very straightforward. It's a very user-friendly system, right down to the control panels on the walls in each room that allow you to adjust volume or select different audio sources and three different lounges.”
For this project, we were also required to bring the PA/VA into the system, so that the loudspeaker systems on our stand can be overridden and safety messages played throughout all of our different areas. We achieved this with an I/O-22, built into the exhibition centre's PA control room. There's an emergency break contact which would mutes the PA/VA system on our stand and routes emergency messages into our system via Q-LAN throughout the stand and its related areas.
System Components
- 2 - Q-SYS Core 500i Processors
- 2 - Q-SYS I/O Frame Peripherals
- 1 - Q-SYS I/O-22 Peripheral
- 3 - Q-SYS TSC-3 Touchscreen Controllers
Results
Hansjörg Wenzel, the design consultant for Filmtec, said “Every audio management system has a limit beyond which the processor can't handle any more channels… but Q-SYS seemed capable of delivering an impressive amount of processor power and number of channels with ease.
Our original design for the stand was pretty simple, and was very quick to put together in Q-SYS. These ended up really adding to what we eventually delivered. But because Q-Sys is so scalable, it was easily taken care of….Going from 64 inputs to 128 in [Q-SYS Designer Software] was easy, just a matter of copying really, and we soon got the results we needed."