Installation Case

category:
Event
Language:

62nd International Motor Show

— Yamaha at the 62nd International Motor Show —

Overview


 

"See What's Driving the Future" was the motto of the 62nd International Motor Show (IAA) at the Exhibition Centre in Frankfurt am Main. The show ran from 13 to 23 September 2007, with major automobile manufacturers from around the world presenting their latest models and technical innovations. Around one million visitors came to view the spectacle beneath the gigantic, 257-meter exhibition center tower.

The exhibitors weren't content to simply unveil their innovations, so carefully concealed until opening day, and leave them standing in the exhibition halls. Impressively choreographed multimedia spectacles and large-scale press events took advantage of modern image and sound technologies to captivate consumers and journalists alike. Professionally produced product presentations flickered across giant screens, while enormous audio systems set the tone with thunderous multi-channel sound.

Here with the support of the financially powerful auto industry was a chance to put on a one-of-a-kind show, making the exhibition a veritable festival for the numerous service providers from the audio and video industries commissioned to implement the presentations. But big budgets also come with big expectations. The best was barely good enough, and the call for absolute perfection, precision, and reliability was louder than ever.

The audio specialists in particular were faced with some challenging tasks. The public address systems had to be gigantic, powerful, and clear sounding, but at the same time completely invisible – even if composed of hundreds of loudspeaker units. Only the best were up to the challenge and able to win the hotly contested tender to organize the automobile concerts.

The German market leaders, DaimlerChrysler (now Daimler AG), VW and BMW (with Rolls Royce and MINI), were of course represented with impressive productions. The contracts for the installation of the systems went to events systems providers Atelier Markgraph (DaimlerChrysler), Neumann & Müller (DaimlerChrysler), Profi Musik (VW), Tonart AG (BMW) and Heiko-Müller-music-&-light-design-GmbH (MINI and Rolls Royce).

Location:
Frankfurt am Main
Place:
The Exhibition Centre 
Interview date:
09/2007

Product List

Mixers:
LS9-32, LS9-16, DM1000, 01V96
Processors:
DME64N, DME24N
Interfaces:
AD8HR

Details

Yamaha DME Technology at the IAA

Audio specialists from the respective contractors pursued vastly different solutions in designing the systems, and in particular for device connections. But when it came to system management they all relied on Yamaha's advanced, proven DME technology. Roughly two dozen Yamaha DME64N digital engines and numerous other models were put to work for the three largest German auto makers, functioning as flexible control centers and reliable providers of computational power for signal processing.

The Big Show for DaimlerChrysler


Multimedia staging in the enormous festival hall rented by DaimlerChrysler. The escalator installed just for the event, and crowds of visitors are visible at rear left.

Six DME64Ns and one DME24N were required for DaimlerChrysler alone to get a handle on the complex sound for their IAA production. The Stuttgart-based company didn't cut any corners, and rented the exhibition center's enormous festival hall. During the eleven days of the trade fair and at the press tour conducted prior to the official opening of the exhibition, the interior space of the building acquired a second core containing a clever guidance system for viewers, including a large escalator installed just for the event.

The production designed for the exhibition itself involved a 20-minute show loop with LED animation, video support, and complex sound effects – an enormous challenge for the hardware used. The PA system served numerous loudspeaker systems from different manufacturers installed discreetly on three levels, with d&b amps providing power, and management handled by six Yamaha DME64N units in 11.1 surround format. These DSP engines didn't just function as a giant switching matrix with 20 inputs and 86 outputs. They also provided numerous dynamic processors, input EQs, output EQs, and delays. Thanks to the run-time delays integrated into the system design and preset control, the direction of the sound could be completely changed by resetting the delay lines, simply by pressing a button on the DME. An additional delay on the input served to synchronize the sound with the video.

The creators of the system design and PA installation were Atelier Markgraph, with freelance system designer Georg Jordan, who programmed the DME cluster using Yamaha's new DME Designer V3 software, in cooperation with Neumann & Müller, a world leader in PA technology.

Stefan Hartmann from Neumann & Müller on the Installation and Use of Yamaha DME Technology


Concentrated Power: Stefan Hartmann and Georg Jordan in front of the equipment stand with numerous DME units from DaimlerChrysler

"We set high standards for our own work, and we demand a consistently high level of quality. In the DSP processor field, we prefer Yamaha's DME technology because networking via CobraNet is very interesting, regardless of the fact that for this particular installation we made an exception and relied on proven analogue audio-NF connections between DME units and the decentralized amps." The new DME Designer software makes linking a laptop to the DME units very easy, something that makes the product all the more attractive, according to Hartmann. "The client was ultimately very satisfied with our work, for which we can thank the DME units – which, as we expected, ran absolutely reliably."

Yamaha DME Installations for BMW, Rolls Royce and MINI


New BMW Model with multimedia screen in the background.

Bavarian auto maker BMW commissioned the Tonart company to install an enormous audio system for the IAA. Here too a PA system capable of serving an enormous exhibition center hall was required. Alongside the lovingly produced staging, pragmatically dubbed "Messeloop", the equipment also had to be capable of handling the press conference – a significant difference from the DaimlerChrysler set-up.

The project involved 20 input channels in all, sourced from various speech microphones, multi-track play devices, interpreters, and live conferences, relayed to more than 100 loudspeaker systems from manufacturers such as Kling & Freitag and d&b. An outside broadcast van and the press room also required corresponding signals.

The signal processing, control, routing, run-time adjustment, and overall control of the equipment was handled by six DME64N units outfitted with MY expansion cards in various formats. The DSP engines were also supported through several DME satellites – an extremely demanding task given the complexity of the system.

Tonart decided to work with modern network technology to handle signal transmission over longer distances, deploying the CobraNet format and Optocore. Using a fiber-optic ring network supported by Optocore DD32 interfaces, the signals were passed to various stations such as the broadcast van and the press room. For AD and DA conversion Tonart elected to work with tried-and-tested Yamaha DA824 and AD824 converters. Microphone pre-amplification was handled by a remote controlled Yamaha AD8HR preamp. The DME units were programmed so that the volume in the exhibition space could be controlled simply and easily by non-specialist users.

Additional DME units were positioned at the MINI and Rolls Royce stands, for which Heiko Müller's music-&-light-design-GmbH from Leonberg was responsible. Three DME64N units were in operation for the charming and sporty little MINI, while luxury brand Rolls Royce was allotted one DME32. For MINI alone some 50 loudspeakers had to be controlled. Deft programming of the DME units reduced problems with cross-talk from the sound systems of other stands to a minimum.

For BMW, the engineers involved in the project also elected to take advantage of the reliability of the Yamaha DME units. The devices are absolutely fail-safe and extremely flexible. Another big advantage is the ability to connect to practically all standard formats using Yamaha's MY cards.

Volkswagen AG Also Reaches for Yamaha DME Power


Profi Musik's Arne Sumfleht doing a line check on the DME designer.

Volkswagen AG put its trust in the expertise of the Profi Musik company for the installation of a powerful sound system in Hall 3 at the exhibition center.

Three extremely complex events needed to be handled by the same equipment – the big production, the dealers' evening, and the press conference. That meant that the Profi Musik technicians and the equipment itself had to be extremely flexibile. Sound designer Bodo Bergmann, product manager Jonas Hellberg, system designer Arne Sumfleht, and the lead designer for the press conference, Jörg Anders, selected six Yamaha DME64N units to serve as the control center for the system.

The DSP engines supplied output for 105 ceiling-mounted speakers from Meyersound and Kling & Freitag, providing sound coverage for the enormous area. Additional front fills and several line arrays were also rolled in just for the press conference. One noteworthy aspect here was the use of remote desktop for remote control of the DME units. Presets like "show loop," "equipment test," or "press conference" were pre-programmed into the DME to allow the entire setup to be switched from one event to the next.

Three Yamaha LS9 consoles were used to mix the live music and perform other tasks at the dealers' evening. One Yamaha DM1000 recorded the signals from the press conference. An additional Yamaha 01V96 and six Yamaha MSP5 monitors were positioned in the production room.

"Along with the installation of the equipment, procuring the equipment was also a big challenge," explains Profi Musik General Manager Jürgen Thiele. After all, hotel rooms aren't the only commodity in scarce supply before and during the IAA in Frankfurt – DME units from Yamaha aren't that easy to come by either, he reports ...

In Closing

When it comes to extremely high-pressure events like the IAA, where everything is on the line and even the smallest flaw could lead to the loss of the next big business contract, the top service providers in the events engineering field put their trust in products from Yamaha. That may serve as a fine calling card for Yamaha Commercial Audio, but it's no reason for our developers to rest on their laurels. The next IAA for passenger vehicles is coming soon (2009). And the story will remain the same: faster, higher, further, better.

Sound Company

Atelier Markgraph GmbH

Web site
http://www.markgraph.de

Neumann&Müller GmbH & Co. KG

Web site
http://www.neumannmueller.com

Profi Musik Handels GmbH

Web site
www.profimusik.de

Ton-art AG

Web site
http://www.ton-art.de/

Heiko Müller music & light design GmbH