Hurrairah bin Sohail discovers how Indesign Technologies interpreted detailed documentation to ensure that the AV systems complied with the desired brand identity for Mercedes- Benz.
What do you do when working on a build project where the client has strong brand guidelines? This
was the question that Indesign
Technologies faced when it was
approached by the builder to
handle the AV requirements for
the Mercedes-Benz showroom in
Brisbane, Australia.
Peter Coman, managing
director at Indesign Technologies,
states that he took on the issue of
branding head on: “At the start of
the project, the discussion was
around MAR 2020, which is a
guideline from Mercedes-Benz
to standardise the experience at
its showrooms across the globe.
We started talking about how we
could comply with MAR 2020
and this was the primary reason
Indesign Technologies was
brought on board by the builder.”
MAR 2020 took the shape of a
19-page document and Indesign
Technologies began the process
to unpack what it entailed.
Coman says: “Honestly, we
probably spent the first six weeks
just reading the documentation
that had been provided. Of
course, not every single page
was about AV. But we had to understand how the space
would come together and all the
guidelines for the architectural
elements because whatever AV
systems we chose, they would be
part of the whole space.”
Initially, Coman approached
the documentation with slight
trepidation. He details: “When I
saw the documentation, I
thought everything is going to be
‘hard-spec’ed’. We’re not going to
be designing, we’re going to be
documenting. But as we went
through the documentation, we
found that other than the
speakers for a certain portion of
the showroom for AMG, we were
free to use whatever we wanted.
The documentation did an
excellent job of detailing the
experience that Mercedes-Benz
wanted. But it left the details of
how to create this experience up
to us.”
Coman continues: “There
were two concrete specifications.
The first was that all the displays
had to be capable of displaying
4K content. The second was that
all the large videowalls had to be
in 32:9 aspect ratio. Other than
that, we were free to pursue any
route we chose. There was no
detail on how to transport the
video signal from A to B. We just had basic line diagrams and
nothing else.”
The MAR 2020 documentation
also helped Coman understand
the client’s requirements. He
explains: “Coming into the
project, I thought that AV over
IP would be the best way to go.
We could just have a centralised
system and push all the signals
out over the network. But when
we started going through the
documentation, it showed every
single screen with its own player.
What’s the point of that? And
then we realised that if every
screen has its own player it can
have its own unique content and
we decided to comply with this. It
allowed us to offer cost savings to
the client and also allowed them
to use the displays in the manner
they envisioned.”
The video system at the
Mercedes-Benz showroom
follows a simple but effective
template. NEC LCD panels are
used for all the displays, be they
standalone or in a videowall.
Scala players are used along
with Lightware 4x2 switchers
to manage video inputs and
outputs. Mersive Solstice is used
to provide wireless connectivity
while a Crestron CP3 processor,
one of the few pieces of AV equipment located in the central
rack, provides control.
The early choice for Indesign
Technologies to make was
regarding the display type, LED
or LCD. Coman details how a
decision was reached: “When we
were looking at the display type,
LED was definitely in our
thoughts. It looks great and has
a wow-factor. But the MAR 2020
documentation stated that all
displays must be 4K ready. We
were sure that for the larger
videowalls, LED could achieve
this. But, for the smaller display
sizes the current LED pixel
pitches might not work for 4K. So,
we decided to go with LCD and
then standardise the experience
across the whole showroom.”
The Lightware switchers were
also chosen after surveying the
field. Coman says: “We needed a
bulletproof, robust system. A lot
of the displays are behind glass
panels and the AV equipment
on the panel cannot be easily
accessed. We chose the Lightware
switcher mainly for its reliability.”
The dual outputs on the
switcher were required due to the
32:9 aspect ratio required for the
videowalls. Essentially, these
large displays are treated like a
left and right canvas. The NEC
displays are linked together with
the help of their internal daisy chain function and double output
from a PC is used for content.
Mersive Solstice is used for
wireless connectivity. Coman
says: “Once again, we went with Mersive Solstice because we
know that it is rock solid.”
Coman continues: “Another
reason for choosing Mersive
Solstice was its support for
Miracast. If you notice, there are
not a lot of touch screens around
the space and this is by design.
We wanted the spaces to be
automated. With Miracast, the
users can just come in with their
issued iPads and connect to the
screens and proceed with their
business.”
The Crestron CP3 processor
provides the automation. It has
been programmed to toggle
between the Mersive Solstice,
the Lightware switcher and the
media player sources according
to the situation.
The topic of connectivity was
one where a slight diversion from
MAR 2020 was required. Coman
elaborates: “The documentation
didn’t specify wired connectivity.
But talking with the end user,
they requested the option to
be able to plug in their laptops
via HDMI. We had the input
capacity on the switcher and the
integrator, Corporate Initiatives
[CI], was generous enough to
accommodate the request for
connectivity plates without any
additional costs.”
Audio for the showroom is
provided by SoundTube and
Yamaha ceiling speakers. Audio
signals are distributed over the
network via Dante and a Biamp
Tesira DSP resides in the central
rack to manage the system.
Regarding the challenges
faced during the course of the
project, Coman says: “We started
off trying to decipher and
understand the MAR 2020
documentation and that was
not easy. We were tasked with
making sure that we complied
with it, and we took on a portion
of the risk associated with that.
As that fell into place, we needed
to make sure that everything was
millimetre perfect when it was
being deployed, especially the
displays which were behind
glass panels so that they had
that ‘bezel-less’ look. And finally,
we had to make sure that we
coordinated with all the parties
involved to make sure that the
final outcome was exactly what
the client wanted.”
With the project complete and
the showroom up and running,
Coman runs the rule on the
impact the AV systems have had:
“Whatever the space, AV is an
enabler, and this was true even
more so for this Mercedes-Benz
show room. The AV could not
be front and centre, it obviously
had to be the cars. We couldn’t
overshadow them. But, AV’s role
in augmenting these cars was
also very important. From
helping the salespeople augment
the car displays by bringing up
the models in different colours to
making sure that the MercedesBenz brand identity is reflected
in the ambience and experience
of the space, AV technology is
there to enable it.