"The Harman Pro Group developed HiQnet as a universal technology for any application or configuration," said Mark Terry, Harman Pro Group president. "Focusing on network control and connectivity, HiQnet enables systems integrators to design more intuitive, more efficient audio systems for any type of facility. The Edge at Aotea Centre is a prime example, uniting multiple zones on multiple floors under a singular control platform."
The Edge features five performing arts houses - the 2,200-seat ASB Theatre in the Aotea Centre, the 2,300-seat Civic Theatre, 1,700-sear Auckland Town Hall, 500-seat Concert Chamber and 190-seat Herald Theatre. In addition, The Edge hosts a number of conferences and conventions.
The original background music system was installed by Jands Electronics New Zealand in 1989 and covered the Aotea Centre's main theatre foyer areas for all paging and fire evacuation duties. As part of the current upgrade requirements, the fire evacuation system is being separated and will become standalone: The new background music system will be used for recorded announcements, paging and music feeds to the ASB Theatre foyer, Herald Theatre foyer bar and convention room foyers over three levels as well as the back-of-house theatre paging.
The new system uses two BSS Soundweb London BLU-80 processors and nine Crown CTs600 amplifiers using Crown USP3CN cards. The Soundweb London BLU-80 units are configured to use 12 analogue inputs and four analogue outputs per device. The 12 analogue sources are processed and prioritized before being transmitted to the amplifiers via CobraNet. The Soundweb London BLU-80 units are also configured as to operate as a redundant system, with the first unit acting as the master and the second as a redundant backup. The processing inside the BLU-80 units is mirrored and linked where required using the HiQnet London Architect software.
Two Soundweb London BLU-10 wall-mount remote controllers are used to offer users interaction with the paging microphone in the ASB Theatre foyer and the stage manager's prompt corner. The comprehensive Logic of the functionality of the Soundweb London system enables the local technicians to assign priority paging to theatre foyer areas, the input sources including a local microphone, recorded announcements and chimes. It also provides back-of-house paging with show relay and paging priority. For the technicians, there is a full PFL monitoring system configured so that any input and output can be listened to from a local speaker at the main equipment rack.
The HiQnet London Architect design and control software has been configured to offer multiple operator levels for the foyer staff, technicians, supervisors and managers, with screens tailored for each technician or computer location. The main hardware and software design and commissioning is being overseen by Jands Electronics New Zealand, with onsite integration by Tony Blandford and his staff and the Aotea Centre technicians.
Harman HiQnet enables users to maximize system configuration and control of products for the entire family of Harman brands. Compatible with the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) standard, HiQnet allows users to quickly and efficiently connect a network of HiQnet-compatible components. The protocol enables a single software application to be used for the design of a full audio system allowing custom control panels, device and system preset recall, automatic system reconfiguration, system-wide event logging and remote access and diagnostics to be configured just once for the entire sy
