Rhythm Arora details how Qubix Technologies gave the different spaces at Mayfair Lakeside, India a touch of personalised care to ensure the AV systems deployed enhance their unique features and functions.
Hospitality projects require a wide range of AV systems that need to deliver varied levels of functionality. Rhythm Arora, chief
technology officer at Qubix
Technologies, explains the
technology requirements at
Mayfair Lakeside: “The hotel
needed to be equipped to host
large weddings, conventions,
stage shows, artists and other
events. This would require a
large and versatile event system
in the banquet hall, which should
be flexible enough to be able to
handle conferences in the day
and a concert or a cocktail event
in the evening. Additionally,
Mayfair Lakeside wanted these
AV systems to be concealed along
with the interior design elements
and AV should not be visually
prominent.”
Not only did Mayfair Lakeside
require the spaces to be flexible
in their own right but the resort
also needed the different spaces
to come together and function as
a whole. Arora details: “There are
instances where the customers
book the entire property for
their event and in that case,
they should be able to customise
each and every corner of the
property from the music in each
restaurant to every display in the
whole resort. And they should be
able to send video feeds from one
venue to the other. For example,
if there is an event happening
in the banquet hall, and some
people are sitting in the bar, they
should be able to see the feed on
the display in the bar.”
Taking the brief from the
client, Qubix Technologies
translated it into technology
systems. Arora says: “To deliver
the flexibility required audio,
video and lighting needed to
be on the same platform. We
needed the ability to route
any signal to any zone. And to
ensure a good UX, everything
needed to be controllable from
a user-friendly iPad app.”
In the three banquet halls
of Mayfair Lakeside these
technology systems take the
shape of networked audio,
video over IP and an extensive
control system.
The halls have six independent
clusters of JBL VRX active line
arrays connected to each other
via BSS BluLink. Arora explains:
“In case the rooms are divided,
these line arrays work as separate
individual systems. When
combined, they can also be used
as surround speakers. We have
also added a surround sound
processor in the rack. If a
customer wants to play content
with 5.1 audio in the large hall,
it can be done with just a tap
on the iPad.”
Ceiling cameras cover the hall
and send video feeds over the IP
network. A total of five Christie
10,000 lumens full HD laser
projectors are used to display
visuals on 220-in projection
screens. Video signals are
transmitted over IP via AMX
encoders and decoders.
Mayfair Lakeside boasts seven
restaurants on the property and
the focus for these spaces was
audio. Arora says: “Music plays
a very important role when it
comes to creating the vibe
and setting the tone of the
experience at the restaurants.
The teams from each of the
restaurants had specifications as
to what music they want to play
and when. The music and the
tempo changes over the course
of the day and it even needs to
be adjusted with the number of
people in the restaurant. Being
inside a resort, the occupancy is
not consistent which needed to
be accounted for.”
To meet these needs Qubix
Technologies integrated an AV
system that fit the bill. Arora
explains: “We have customised
a smart, multi-stream music
server which fetches and updates
playlists from an internet music
repository from which the team
can select one of the pre-sets and
they are good to go. The entire
system is Dante-based, and for
BGM we are using 27 different
Dante channels. Every restaurant
has the ability to take local inputs
using Dante wall plates. Even
in the case of local input, the
processing happens on a central
BSS Blu 806 DA Dante DSP which
EQs and sends the signal back to
the restaurant amplifier over
Dante.”
A similar level of attention to
the client’s needs can be seen in
the audio deployment for the 20
suites which make up the spa.
Arora says: “We have integrated
Alexa for each of the spa suites
and this system is a handsfree
music player for each and every
room, and it makes it very easy
for the customer to just speak out
loud the type of songs they want
to hear while they are getting
their treatment. To our surprise,
the therapists also started to use
Alexa too as a timer, and also to
check sports scores or even news
headlines sometimes.”
Not surprisingly, delivering
these AV systems tailored
specifically to the spaces and
their function was not easy.
Arora says: “The integration
between the music server, the
playlist system and the AV
systems along with scheduling,
all these elements were hard to
bring together and required a
completely customised solution.
The biggest challenge was to
interface with a third-party
internet repository, analyse
the music for its BPM and then
check internet databases for
recommendations of similar
music to provide that completely
automated and curated playback
experience we were going for.
At the same time, we had to
contend with intellectual
property rights as well.”
Arora credits a drive to deliver
for the client as the answer to
these challenges: “We wanted to
build the most user friendly and
fully integrated solution for
Mayfair Lakeside. We went in
depth and evaluated the ‘last
mile’ at the resort and came to
the conclusion that bespoke
software was the answer to
the client’s requirements. If
everything is automated and
intuitive then the customer can
really get the most out of its
investment in AV. This bespoke
software solution is an area that
Qubix Technologies has been
exploring and we have added this
set of expertise to our roster.”
He continues: “Our focus over
the last two years has been to not
only integrate the equipment but
to integrate customer’s business
processes with the AV system. It
started with the desire to deliver
easy-to-use GUIs and has now
evolved into the objective of
making AV seamless and making
AV truly plug-and-play with the
entire decision process being
automated once user input has
been received.”
To conclude, Arora details
how Qubix Technologies
continues to try and provide
optimal outcomes for the client:
“What we have tried to ensure
is that the customer uses
everything and knows the
features which we have built
into their projects. Qubix
Technologies has evolved as a
business to create a ‘customer
success team’. What we found
was that once a project was over,
the project managers and people
who delivered the project in the
first place leave the site and move
on leaving the end user to figure
out how the systems work and
what features they have at their
disposal. The customer success
team’s job is to ensure that the
engagement we had during
the project does not drop once
the project is complete and we
continue to provide value to the
customer by organising quick
workshops and presentations
for the end user teams after the
handover to ensure they get the
most out of the technology they
have invested in."