Exhibition halls can appear to be blank canvasses on the surface, only coming to life when temporary trade fairs, conferences or events roll in. However, to deliver the systems required by such a diverse and ever changing range of clients is quite a challenge.
Expo Targi Krakow, owners of Expo Krakow moved location in 2014 to open the largest multipurpose facility in the south of Poland. The new building was designed and built from the ground up with a completely overhauled facility. With AV and communication technology a priority, the facility owner turned to Signum Project, Krakow headquartered AV integrator to manage a huge infrastructure deployment.
“The biggest expectation [from Expo Targi Krakow] was to create the most flexible installation allowing for every possible configuration of the conference, trade and public space,” begins Gzegorz Augustyn, CEO of Signum Project.
“They also wanted to have control of building automation in terms of building management systems. Our role was not only to deliver AV, but also building management and automation systems.”
The centre was designed to host a wide variety of events including trade fairs, conferences and live events. It also had to be able to accommodate a multitude of known and unknown future possibilities so flexibility was crucial.
“We do not know what kind of event could take place in the future. We do not know what to expect or who will be using [the facility]. There were many question marks. We did know however that the system must work and it must be flexible,” explained Augustyn.
High intensity use also meant reliability was crucial. “Events are held almost every week, weekends and holidays, often more than ten hours per day and sometimes 24 hours for two or more days,” Augustyn adds.
For signal delivery, a WyreStorm hybrid HDBaseT/HD over IP distribution system was settled on. Signum delivered a series of HDBaseT matrices, 70m and 100m HDBaseT extenders, a switcher/scaler and NetworkHD systems. Signum also used cables from Kramer.
The centre houses two exhibition halls of 5,000m² and 4,000m² as well as offices, conference spaces and a restaurant.
When visitors enter the facility via the open plan main entrance they are greeted by digital signage information displayed on two 70-in Sharp public displays. The venue-wide digital signage system is powered by Eveo room management systems and management servers as well as Eveo players for screens to display independent content.
Twenty-one floor boxes - offering HDMI, VGA with stereo audio and MIC XLR connectivity – were placed throughout the exhibition halls. NEC and Sharp projectors, fed by a combination of Wyrestorm HDBaseT and NetworkHD, fire on to three large projection screens.
Mackie 12-in passive speakers and mixers were also provided for use in the exhibition halls with dbx loudspeaker management. Signum also delivered an AKG wireless system.
Four conference rooms feature 15 Sharp and NEC powered WXGA projection systems. The rooms can be portioned into smaller sections depending on the size of the conference, meeting or training session. Projectors are mounted using B-Tech units and fire on to Avers and Adeo projection screens. Each partitioned section contains two Kramer floor boxes and a 60-in Sharp screen, mounted on an Edbak wall mount.
“Events are held almost every week, weekends and holidays, often more than ten hours per day and sometimes 24 hours for two or more days.”
An Ecler audio system handled amplification and playout via ceiling speakers. Audio signal routing is managed with Clearone SR1212 units. A Sennheiser ew 335 G3 wireless handheld microphone system was also deployed.
All permanent source and distribution equipment is located in three equipment racks in a back office. Signum installed Wyrestorm 11x2 multi-format switcher/scalers to accommodate the huge range of content, laptops, mobile devices, storage devices or media players that exhibitors and conference attendees might bring.
Delivering user interfaces presented an additional challenge. “[The client] did not want to have any in-wall touchscreens or controllers for AV,” notes Augustyn. “They wanted to manage all the rooms remotely and needed to have a dedicated wireless user interface.”
This was easier said than done.
“This is an expo venue so the wireless network is often hugely overloaded in terms of the needs,” says Augustyn.
In close co-operation with the IT lead and the customer, Signum Project responded with a redundant structure for wireless local units and Ethernet based remote and virtual panels for the tech team managing the spaces.
RTI control was implemented, comprising XP-8s control processors and remotes.
With Expo Krakow open, the system has been tested rigorously, with the centre overcoming challenges posed by accommodating the various demands from customers, such as using different computers or different standards.
Augustyn says the technical team has efficiently managed the venue, met the varying needs of the customers and provided backup and a high level of service.
In hindsight, Augustyn says that the addition of some wired control panels would offer backup and avoid battery and charging needs. However, he says there is nothing that can’t be added to the system and notes that the customer is currently working on videoconferencing facilities.
Tech-Spec
Audio
AKG wireless microphone system
ClearOne processing and mixing
Dbx DriveRack processors
Ecler digital audio matrixes, amplifiers and ceiling speakers
Mackie loudspeakers and mixers
Sennheiser wireless microphone system
Video
Adeo projection screens
Avers projection screens
B-Tech projector mounts
Edbak TWB2 LCD wall mounts
NEC projectors
Sharp projectors and 60-in and 70-in screens
Smart-e digital signage transmitters and receivers
Control & Distribution
Eveo management systems, management servers and players
Kramer floor boxes, cables
RTI control system
WyreStorm PP matrix switchers, SW-1102 switcher/scalers, HDBaseT extension, NetworkHD extension, NetworkHD controller