Audio and Video for the Court of Burgundy

posted:

21/01/2011

The MEDIAGROUP installed an all-new media infrastructure in a historic city

Worms is ranked top among German historic cities. According to the Nibelungen saga, Siegfried the dragon slayer was murdered here by Hagen von Tronje at the Court of Burgundy. Now the city is going to take advantage of its rich history and location in the heart of Europe by positioning itself as a point where culture and business meet. On January 29 a new convention centre in the heart of Worms, built by Gerkan, Marg and Partner architects, open its doors together with the completely refurbished municipal theatre. Installation of all audio and video systems in the sprawling complex was undertaken by the systems integrator division of the SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP.

State-of-the-Art Communication in the Theatre

Refurbishment of the theatre, built back in the sixties, started 2008 and includes an all-new media infrastructure. Alongside a modern stage management system, a new intercom, public address and evacuation system was installed. The contract also included the control room for the main auditorium, complete audio networking and the FOH sound system. Intercom and stage management is handled by a SALZBRENNER STAGE 300 system which relies on a STAGETEC NEXUS for the audio backbone. The STAGE 300 addresses 296 speakers organised in a maximum of 16 loops. A very convenient extra feature is integration with the voice evacuation system PANTURA, also made by SALZBRENNER. The setup allows the STAGE 300 to address the same speakers and loops as the EN 54-16 compliant PANTURA, thus the speakers can be used jointly by both systems. An RTS two-channel party line and a Motorola semi-duplex radio system complete the installation.

Flexible System in the Convention Centre

Due to different requirements, the audio technology in the new convention centre "The Wormser" was designed as a separate system, but with the same components and an almost identical concept. The centre offers up to six flexible use meeting rooms, 4,000 square metres in total. In addition, there is an auditorium with 800 seats which can be divided into two separate halls and therefore required two lighting and sound control rooms. The in-house communication system again features a STAGE 300 stage management system with a NEXUS network working together with the congress centre’s PANTURA as in the theatre. Even the radio system and party line are equipped identically, enabling components to be used as needed either in the theatre or the convention centre. The speaker mountings in the meeting rooms are noteworthy: In order to meet the architect’s requirement for a clean, plain ceiling, all the speakers retract back behind the ceiling panels if not in use. The necessary speaker lifts were custom-made by the MEDIAGROUP - as were the terminal boxes for all interfaces and connectors together with their heavy duty covers.

When it came to video, the city of Worms opted for the latest HD technology, allowing for flexible use throughout the complex. Again two infrastructures were installed, one SDI net in the theatre and one in the conference centre. All video signals are distributed via Sierra SDI video switchers to destinations such as OB van connectors in the theatre and the conference centre, 46-inch flat-screen monitors in the foyers, or the digital signage monitors showing the meeting room assignments.

The official opening of the new complex is on January 29.

Das Wormser