W-DMX Shows Off in Times Square

Date Announced: 21 Apr 2008 Wireless Solution Sweden AB is prominently showing the world how there are just some things that can’t be done without W-DMX™.Chevy has a new 61 x 40 foot (18 x 12 meter) billboard on one of the most prominent city corners in the world – One Times Square. Fisher Theatrical was contracted to program the LED fixtures on the billboard, which was built by the entertainment division of Oceaneering International. The challenge was how to program the lighting from a distance to allow visibility of what they were doing.Kevin Moore, Vice President and Owner of Fisher Theatrical explained the initial challenge: “Working in one of most populous areas and most congested RF environments in the world can be a challenge for any wireless technology. But when you have hundreds of channels of real-time data that has to be communicated reliably in all weather conditions from over 2 blocks away, suddenly the challenge starts to look more like a nightmare!“We recognized early on that programming for the Chevy Icon was going to be difficult. We would either have to lock the console operator in a closet at One Times Square with no sightline to what they were programming and then establish communications from the designer to the programmer, which of course would raise security concerns and access limitations to the building. "Plus, most of the programming was going to need to happen after dusk when we just wouldn’t be able to get access to the building. We decided the best route was to establish an off-site programming post that had line of sight to the icon. Then it was just a matter of getting DMX data across half a mile (0.8 km) of air space to communicate with fixtures and dimming at the Icon.”The design team at Fisher Theatrical designed the layout of the fixtures and made recommendations to purchase Martin Architectural Units. To send the signal, they recommended W-DMX by Wireless Solution. They tested the W-DMX in their parking lot ahead of time, which spanned the distance they were going to have to cover in New York to be sure it would work. An IP65 rated W-DMX receiver and directional antenna system were installed to complete the setup. They installed an ETC Sensor rack, then Kacey Fisher, President and Owner of Fisher Theatrical, programmed the ETC Congo Console and downloaded the looks to an Alcorn McBride Show Control Unit.Moore set up the console onsite and did the initial patching, testing and additional programming and also made sure the wireless signal was working properly. This was all completed from the Marriott Marquis with a line-of-sight hotel room on the 42nd floor.Fixtures used to light the billboard include 18 Articulight Spectacolor 600 LED RGB, 6 Articulight Spectacolor 1200 LED RGB, 5 Articulight Spectacolor 1800 LED RGB, 6 Martin Architectural Exterior 600 Projectors, 48 Permlight ENBS LED Floods, 6 Articulight Aqua HP LED RGB, 6 Articulight UV Pars, 1 Articulight Quazar Strobe, and 3 Rope Lights.Moore continues, “As soon as we had the directional antenna properly aimed toward the other end, the two ends immediately synced up and we had rock solid DMX. We put a Lil’ DMXter DMX analyzer on the receiving end and ran the link through its paces. Everything was totally rock solid. No dropped frames of DMX, very low jitter. No errors. It was as good or better than a hardwired run of cable. “For the rest of our weeks of programming in New York we worked through all of the issues inherent in trying to get a complex rig of color-changing LED and conventional fixtures 26 stories high in the air on the side of a building all communicating and addressed correctly, but throughout our time there we never did run into an issue of getting DMX from our Congo in the hotel on the 42nd floor down to the 26th floor billboard over 2 blocks away.”The Chevy sign can currently been seen prominently displayed on the junction of Broadway and 7th Avenue in New York City. For more on the conversation with Kevin Moore, visit www.wirelessdmx.com.W-DMX is the perfect solution for applications where running DMX cable is not practical. W-DMX technology uses Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum to avoid interference. Critics worldwide have hailed the system as the number one product for interference-free wireless DMX technology.W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden AB is the only system on the market for Wireless DMX that has received awards on both side of the Atlantic Ocean, first at PLASA 2004 and then again at LDI 2005 in Orlando. W-DMX “outshone the rest” in an independent Wireless Shootout held by Lighting & Sound International magazine. It has been used in high profile projects all over the world, including the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, 2006 Nobel Prize Banquet, the Pyramids of Giza and Cirque du Soleil’s Delirium show.

Contact
Joan Lyman Wireless Solution Sweden AB

E-mail:[email protected]

Web Site:www.wirelessdmx.com